SNP faces demands to explain why rapist Police Scotland sergeant was promoted after 2009 arrest

Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr is demanding that John Swinney and Neil Gray account for why Campbell Petrie, 50, was promoted after being arrested in 2009, a decision that allowed him to continue raping women for more than ten years. Petrie was sentenced to 12 years at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, having been convicted on nine charges of physical and sexual abuse against two women between 2006 and 2022. He is the latest in a run of serving or former Police Scotland officers unmasked as rapists — the fourth in five months — a period in which 45 serving officers have been suspended over allegations of violence against women.

Petrie raped one victim while she slept — a fellow officer who had regarded him as a trusted colleague.

Around 6,000 officers and 2,000 civilian staff are still awaiting re-vetting, despite the Chief Constable having warned ministers that the process needed 'sustained investment'.

Judge Alistair Watson called Petrie's refusal to accept responsibility 'disappointing', said the women's suffering was 'obvious', and dismissed his claims of no memory as 'bizarre'.