Former South Wales Chief Constable Barbara Wilding has come under fire from Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood for using a police constable as her personal chauffeur.
A Freedom of Information request by Leanne Wood revealed that the officer was used as driver between January 2008 and December 2008 before the post was civilianised. A police constable’s salary on September 1st, 2008 was in a range from £22,104 to £34,707 a year.
The revelations come just over a year after Barbara Wilding complained of declining police levels and inadequate financial support for a force responsible covering a population of 1.2m people.
The Rhondda-based AM, who represents South Wales Central, said: “People will no doubt question whether a fully trained police constable should have been taken off front-line duties for a whole year to chauffeur Barbara Wilding around in a plush car.
“As Chief Constable, she complained a lot about the force’s funding settlement and closed police stations. It is staggering that given that she has been so wasteful.
“This clearly demonstrates how out of touch Barbara Wilding was as Chief Constable especially as since her departure from the post, she has spoken in crass stereotypical terms about the valleys and those of us who live there. While I’m glad that a constable is no longer responsible for driving the Chief Constable I’m sure most people will not be able to understand why Ms Wilding was unable to drive herself around.”
Earlier this year the former Chief Constable sparked uproar after claiming that Valleys girls wanted to get pregnant as quickly as possible and get a council house.
The Freedom of Information request revealed that a Lexus GS450 was purchased for the use of Barbara Wilding under its Chief Officers Scheme in 2008. The cost was £31,867.
