A FORMER leader of the SNP has launched an outspoken attack on his party's flagship policing reforms, saying the national force should be broken up.

Gordon Wilson, who led the party between 1979 and 1990, branded senior figures at Police Scotland "arrogant" and its chief constable, Sir Stephen House, as "authoritarian".

In an Options for Scotland discussion paper, he recommended that Police Scotland, which has been dogged by a series of scandals since it was set up in 2013, should be broken up into four regional quasi-autonomous forces.

It is the second unwelcome intervention for the Scottish Government from the SNP's former chief, an ex-MP who was succeeded by Alex Salmond as party leader, in the space of a week.

Last Thursday, he waded into a cronyism row over T in the Park, saying a former advisor to Mr Salmond who wants to become an SNP MSP had been damaged by revelations that she set up a meeting that led to the festival's promoter being granted £150,000 in state aid. He also called for lobbying rules to be tightened.

Mr Wilson said that he hoped his latest statement on policing would stir debate, saying issues the force faces cannot be resolved by removing Sir Stephen from his post.

He added: "The problem goes much deeper than Sir Stephen House. Here the Parliament, Ministers and civil servants must accept responsibility for the framework and legislation.

"To ‘retire’ Sir Stephen in a cosmetic move will do nothing to tackle the real difficulties of Police Scotland. These stem from over-centralisation.

"When creating a single national force, no account was paid to the reality that although Scotland is a small country, it nevertheless is a varied one. Different policing practices had been devised over the years to suit local conditions."

He made reference to controversies over armed police being placed on routine patrol and the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody, before describing the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell as "the final nail in the coffin" for Police Scotland. Their car careered off the M9 in July, and although the accident was reported to police on the day, details were not entered into the police system and the car was not discovered until three days later.

Mr Wilson added: "Police Scotland suffered from delusions of grandeur. It saw itself as the equivalent of the Met and responsible to no one. Community policing got small shrift.

"The key change must be to restore community policing to local direction and control. This means changes to the roles of both Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). The latter body has proved toothless in promoting local policing principles over community policing."

Mr Wilson recommended that four regional units should have a chief constable, with local authorities providing oversight. He said national oversight should be exercised by the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee in a quasi-judicial capacity, following the abolition of the SPA.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats, who have repeatedly expressed concern over the running of Police Scotland, described Mr Wilson's comments as "damning".

Alison McInnes, the party's justice spokeswoman, said: "Our concerns have been backed by policing bodies, children’s charities, local councillors and now by former SNP leader Gordon Wilson. People will be stunned that in the face of this thoughtful opposition, the SNP Government remains fully in denial of the chaos going on around them."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said that despite challenges, policing in Scotland continues was performing "excellently".

She added: "We have confidence that the Scottish Police Authority will continue to perform a vital role in ensuring Police Scotland is held to account. Police in Scotland are accountable to the SPA, not Ministers. The ability of our police to continue to operate without political interference – a long-standing principle in Scotland – is of fundamental importance and we have absolutely no plans to change this.”

A spokesman for the SPA said: "There is evidence that many key areas of policing in Scotland are stronger today than they were under the previous multi-force system, and that has been done alongside successful efforts to end duplication and necessary work to reduce the costs of policing. However, we also acknowledge there have been issues and difficulties, and that there is more of that journey of reform ahead of policing than behind it."