A mammoth cycling challenge in memory of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty has raised more than £14,000.

The ‘Fulton500’ saw three retired officers ride more than 500 miles in just six days to mark the 25th anniversary of PC Lewis Fulton’s death.

The trio battled rain, wind and sleet during the cycle around the North Coast 500 before finishing up at Inverness Castle on Sunday May 12.

PC Tommy Loan, 57, Chief Superintendent Alan Gall, 55, and PC David Brannan, 63, were blown away by the generosity shown to them by the Highland community.

The donations, which continue to pour in, will be given to the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity which was co-founded by the fallen PC’s widow Christine.

Police constable Lewis Fulton, 28, died after being stabbed in the Gorbals area of Glasgow in June 1994 whilst responding to an emergency call.

He was rushed to hospital but was tragically pronounced dead a short time later, leaving behind his wife and then seven-month-old son Luke.

PC Tommy Loan (57), Chief Super Alan Gall (55), Christine Fulton and PC David Brannan (63).

Alan Gall yesterday said: “I think we all found it harder than we anticipated. It wasn’t helped by the fact the wind was in our face for the first four days.

“Day two was probably the worst experience of my life. It was always going to be the longest day but what we hadn’t expected was the wind speed and the sleety rain came on.

“We were 13 hours in the saddle after setting off early at 7am. We didn’t finish until 8pm that night. It wasn’t fun that day.”

While on the route, the group realised that their mascot – a stuffed toy police dog puppy called Jock – had become somewhat of a celebrity online.

Members of the public heard about their mission and regularly stopped the cyclists for photographs with them and Jock.

Alan added: “While we were doing it in Lewis’s name and to raise money for the charity, we also wanted to try and ingratiate the police with the local community as well.

“I have to say that they are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. There is a tremendous relationship with the public and the police in the Highlands.

“The amount of support we’ve received both online and in person has been humbling.

“The Highlands and Islands divisional commander George MacDonald just went above and beyond with the amount of things he did for us.

“His officers were turning up on their days off to support us and they had arranged for cake and coffee at various spots around the route.

“The hospitality from the police in that division and also from members of the public was just fantastic.”

Christine, 59, of Kilmarnock, has issued her heartfelt thanks to the retired officers and said: “The amount raised by the team is way beyond anything we imagined and is a testament to the high regard they and Lewis are held in.

Lewis Fulton and wife Christine on their wedding day in 1992.

“I know that there were days that were incredibly difficult but their determination kept them going right to the end.

“I am very proud of them and what they have achieved in Lewis’s memory, I can’t thank them enough.”

To donate, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fulton500

A watchdog is to examine progress made by Police Scotland following an independent review of football policing.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) will examine what steps have been taken by the force to fulfill 18 recommendations made in their initial report.

The probe was commissioned by Police Scotland just weeks after fans were caught up in a crush at Celtic Park in Glasgow following an Old Firm match.

The report, which was released in March, praised the force for their current operating model which they found was generally “fit for purpose”.

South Yorkshire’s Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who lead the review, did find significant safety concerns during the probe.

It highlighted cases of some football clubs selling more tickets than their stadium’s capacity and erecting temporary unsafe seating.

The review also found that safety certificates were being issued for football stadiums without inspections being carried out by some local authorities.

DCC Roberts made a series of recommendations for Police Scotland to look into including a review of their current policing for seeking football banning orders through civil court action.

The report also stated that an urgent multi-agency review into appropriate governance, consultation and inspection regimes for Scottish venues used for football and other events.

A recommendation was also made for the force to consider extending the current diversionary schemes such as the “Changing Behaviours” programme to deter violent behaviour at matches.

A change of the function, composition and branding of the force’s Football Coordination Unit for Scotland (FoCUS) was also recommended.

HMICS will now liaise with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Government to establish what progress has been made.

The review will also highlight areas of developing good practise, identify any areas with room for improvement and find any areas where further progress is required in matters of shared public safety and responsibility.

The finished assurance report is expected in July 2019.

Gill Imery, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said: “The aim of this follow-up assurance review by HMICS is to provide an independent assessment of the progress made by Police Scotland in relation to the 18 recommendations made from the Independent Review.

“Where appropriate, this may result in recommendations from HMICS to address any important gaps in operations, policy or process before the commencement of the Scottish Professional Football League season 2019/2020 on 03 August 2019.”

Detective Chief Constable Will Kerr, of Police Scotland, said: “Police Scotland has an enviable reputation around how it polices large events, including sporting events such as the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games, and I’m pleased that the independent review highlighted this.

“But it is important for a learning organisation such as Police Scotland to reflect on areas where we may be able to improve our procedures or learn from good practice elsewhere.

“Work is under way to implement Police Scotland’s recommendations by the start of the 2019/20 domestic football season and we will report regularly to the Scottish Police Authority on our progress.”

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has announced the appointment of Kenny MacDonald and Gary Ritchie as Assistant Chief Constables (ACC) with Police Scotland.

The duo were appointed on May 14 following a rigorous recruitment process conducted by the Scottish Police Authority alongside Chief Constable Iain Livingstone.

Professor Carol Tannahill, Director of Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), was also an adviser on the panel with Gill Imery from HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland.

Kenny MacDonald began his career with the legacy Strathclyde Police in 1994 and was initially based in the Clydebank area where he held various uniformed roles.

He was later posted to support superintendent in Edinburgh shortly after the inception of Police Scotland in 2013 before being made temporary Chief Superintendent Divisional Commander for Lanarkshire.

He gained substantial experience overseeing events including the Hogmanay Street Party, the Edinburgh Festival and a visit from the President of the United States between 2016 and 2018.

Latterly, Chief Superintendent MacDonald has been deputy Senior Responsible Officer for the Digitally Enabled Policing Programme since August 2018.

Gary Ritchie also began his policing career in the former Strathclyde division in 1991 and was initially based in Irvine where he held various uniform and corporate support roles.

He was made Area Commander in North Ayrshire during 2010 before being promoted to Chief Superintendent at Dumfries and Galloway in 2016.

He also completed a stint as support superintendent in Edinburgh.

Having been seconded from his role as Local Policing Commander in V Division, Chief Superintendent Ritchie has been working in the Operational Change and Resilience portfolio since late 2018.

Susan Deacon, Chair of the SPA, welcomed two promotions and said: “Over the last year, the SPA has made a number of senior appointments which have brought strength and stability to the leadership of Police Scotland.

“I am delighted to announce today the appointment of Kenny MacDonald and Gary Ritchie as Assistant Chief Constables with Police Scotland.

“I am confident that both individuals will bring a range of skills that will further enhance and support the Chief Constable and wider leadership team.”

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone added: “Kenny and Gary are experienced and respected officers who have served communities across Scotland over the years.

“Their appointments follow a robust recruitment process with high quality candidates and will further strengthen our stable and effective leadership team.”

The salary for an Assistant Chief Constable within Police Scotland is £123,804.

Police Scotland hope to roll-out their controversial ‘cyber kiosks’ by as early as this summer after their use was found to be lawful.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson told the Scottish Police Authority on Tuesday that the force was now “entirely satisfied” that there was a legal basis for the ‘digital device triage systems’.

The force had hoped to start using the new technology in autumn 2018 but plans were halted after concerns were raised by MSPs and various human rights groups.

There were fears that the devices breached an individual’s right to privacy but also about the type of data that could be accessed.

Police Scotland were forced to seek clarification on the legality of using the 41 kiosks which they had already purchased at a cost of almost £500,000.

A justice sub-committee on policing at the Scottish Parliament also asked that equality, human rights and data protection impact assessments should be carried out.

In a report submitted to the SPA by ACC Johnson, he stated that the force had sought independent legal advice from a senior lawyer and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

He said: “Police Scotland is entirely satisfied that the use of cyber kiosks is lawful and that we have developed robust policy, practise and procedure which underpins the values of the service and how we seek to interact with and protect the citizens of Scotland.

“Now that we have unambiguous clarity from both COPFS and independent senior counsel on the legal basis for their use, and subject to ongoing discussions with the SPA, our intention is to start the operational roll-out of cyber kiosks as soon as practically possible.”

He accepted that lessons had been learned by the force who were criticised for carrying out two trials of the devices without informing the people whose phones were examined in 2016.

But at an SPA meeting yesterday (Wed), he said he was confident that the kiosks could be used by the “summertime” providing the final stages of talks are successful.

An independent legal opinion by Murdo Macleod QC was submitted to the SPA and disclosed details about how the kiosks work and the type of data that could be examined.

He explained that mobile phones and tablets belonging to suspects would only be examined once authorisation had been given by a senior ranking officer.

The supervisor, who will have to be a sergeant or above, will have to be satisfied that devices belonging to suspects had been seized lawfully and “speculative enquiries” should be rejected.

He noted that the search with the triage systems would be restricted with certain parameters, such as timescales or keywords and names, to reduce the level of privacy intrusion.

The kiosks will also be configured to only search stored data on devices which are not connected to the internet and which will have had their sim-cards removed.

The advocate was of the view that the cyber kiosks were “necessary” and “proportionate” to allow Police Scotland to prevent, investigate and detect crime.

Devices belonging to victims and witnesses of crime would only be examined when informed consent had been given.

Mobile phones or tablets which are found to have data of interest will be sent to one of Police Scotland’s already established Cyber Hubs for further examination.

This would allow devices which do not contain any relevant data to be returned to their owner much more quickly and will help reduce the workload of the forensic police units.

He concluded: “In my opinion the use of cyber kiosks in the manner envisaged by Police Scotland is lawful.”

Representatives from Police Scotland will return to Holyrood on Thursday May 9 to update the justice sub-committee on their progress

Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr said: “Cyber kiosks are critically needed to help protect people from criminality, including organised gangs and online sexual abuse.

“Current limitations mean the devices of victims, witnesses and suspects can be taken for months at a time, even if it later transpires that there is no worthwhile evidence on the device.

“Cyber kiosks use the same processes already in place to examine thousands of devices Police Scotland seize each year, to provide evidence which is subject to legal scrutiny and presented in court to secure convictions.

“The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and independent senior counsel have confirmed the clear legal basis for their use.

“Police Scotland has reported to the Scottish Police Authority on our plans to roll out this much needed technology.”

Three retired police officers are set to tackle a mammoth 500 mile cycling challenge in memory of a colleague who was killed in the line of duty.

The trio decided to mark the 25th anniversary of Lewis Fulton’s death by raising funds for a lifeline charity that was co-founded by his widow Christine.

The dedicated officers will mount their bikes in Inverness on Tuesday May 7 before taking on the East Coast 500.

PC Tommy Loan, 57, Chief Superintendent Alan Gall, 55, and PC David Brannan, 63, hope to complete the route in just six days.

Funds raised from the challenge, which has been dubbed the Fulton500, will be given to the Care of Police Survivors (Cops) charity which supports families who have lost a uniformed loved one.

Police constable Lewis Fulton, 28, died after being stabbed in the Gorbals area of Glasgow in June 1994 whilst responding to an emergency call.

He was rushed to hospital but was tragically pronounced dead a short time later, leaving behind his wife and then seven-month-old son Luke.

(L-R) PC Tommy Loan, Chief Super Alan Gall, Christine Fulton, and PC David Brannan.

Wife Christine, of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, said: “The guys had been planning to do something as they’ve all retired fairly recently and I think they wanted to do something major to mark that.

“They came across this idea and wanted to raise funds for Care of Police Survivors.

“Then they realised that this would be the 25th anniversary of Lewis’s death and decided that they wanted to do it in his honour.

“Alan Gall contacted me and asked if he could meet with me to find out more about Cops and then it was when he was sat down face to face, he said that actually what they really wanted to do was to do it in memory of Lewis.

“They’re absolutely loving the training. They’ve been out in some horrendous weather so the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a relief for them.

“I’m going to Inverness to wave them off. I’ll be there on the Tuesday morning.”

The 59-year-old added: “It’s really nice because none of them actually knew Lewis.

“I think it is just so special because as serving police officers, Lewis’s death affected them. It affected them all.

“It just means so much that while one officer is hurt, but the whole police family feels it.

“It really just means so much to me that 25 years on, Lewis hasn’t been forgotten.”

Lewis Fulton and wife Christine on their wedding day in 1992.

Speaking about her husband’s death, Christine, who was awarded an MBE for her work with the Cops charity, said: “It never leaves you. You have ups and downs.

“In the beginning it was really tough and then it settled into a sort of level plane.

“Luke starting school and all his milestones, Lewis missed all those. He’s recently graduated from university and not having Lewis there was tough. But he would be so proud.”

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