Police Scotland told elected representatives on Thursday March 12 that their consultation on controversial plans to merge the local policing division with Renfrewshire and Inverclyde was still ongoing.

However a serving police officer informed the MP and MSP that an internal staff briefing from Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick released on the same day confirmed that the consultation process had ended. Baillie and Doyle have said that the contradictory statements show that Police Scotland are saying one thing in public and another thing in private.

Area MSP Labour's Jackie Baillie said: “Police Scotland can’t even agree with each other whether the consultation has closed or not. This makes a mockery of the whole process and will only add weight to the suspicion that police chiefs had already decided to centralise our police division long before seeking the views of local residents. It’s clear that the only way for Police Scotland to restore transparency and public confidence in their consultation is to publish all of the responses immediately.” Labour MP for West Dunbartonshire said: “Police Scotland have refused to provide local residents with clear details on the future of Dumbarton Police HQ. They have failed to spell out clearly what will happen to our local police station if they sell off the land for housing. This is a huge concern for people in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven and these latest statements from two senior police chiefs show that Police Scotland are saying one thing in public and another thing in private.” More to follow.