COUNCILLORS have hit out at Police Scotland over a lack of consultation over a previous decision which saw some officers on routine duties armed.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICS) had backed Police Scotland’s policy, although the country’s police force performed a u-turn earlier this month with armed officers only to be deployed when “firearms offences are taking place, or where there is a threat to life”.

But East Lothian councillors criticised the single police force for failing to consider the way the public would have viewed the now former policy. A number of councillors said they felt it was another example of local communities not being consulted and highlighted the scrapping of traffic wardens in the county and changes to front desk opening hours at police stations.

A report before councillors at a meeting on Tuesday stressed Police Scotland had not chosen “generally to deploy armed police officers to routine incidents” across the county.

Councillor Tim Day (Con) said: “I make it clear that any criticism of Police Scotland should in no way be interpreted as criticism of our local police, who do a fantastic job day in and day out in our communities. The issue of armed policing was contentious and rightly so, and the idea that we could have armed police officers patrolling and attending routine calls is deeply unsettling. It sends completely the wrong message to our communities.” Mr Day said it might have been common practice in policing in Strathclyde but that did not mean it was suitable for East Lothian.

He added: “The idea that what was appropriate in Glasgow city centre is appropriate in East Lothian is deeply flawed and goes to the heart of the matter: the one-size-fits-all approach.

“Local priorities are being overridden by national priorities without any meaningful consultation.” Mr Day felt it was not the first time that consultation with the local authority had been lacking.

He highlighted the scrapping of the county’s traffic wardens and also the changes to front desk opening hours at police stations.

In the local authority’s letter to the Scottish Police Authority, they called for “appropriate levels of consultation and engagement from Police Scotland’s central command about matters over which local commanders and local authorities have no say but which nonetheless affect our communities”.

Councillor Peter MacKenzie (SNP) described it as “beyond belief” that the Chief Constable had felt the idea was acceptable without consultation.

He said: “This goes to the heart of Scottish policing and goes to the heart of what we consider to be the style of policing we are accustomed to in this country.

“In the old Lothian and Borders we had an over-arching aim in policing, which was community wellbeing.

“That was the sort of policing that I was used to and most of you were used to, a sense of community wellbeing and that pinnacle of what we are aiming for.

“I think in this county we are safe, we are very safe, we are really safe.

“If we have this possibility of police officers turning up to an ordinary sort of incident in our county with guns it gives the feeling to the public that we are not really safe.”