THE family of Sheku Bayoh have welcomed retired judge Lord Braccadale’s decision not to recuse himself as chair of the inquiry into the 31-year-old’s death.

The father of two died of asphyxiation after being bound hand and foot with six police officers on top of him on May 3 2015.

Inquiry hearings began in 2022, explicitly examining the role “actual or perceived race” played in how the incident was handled. 

During its 122 days of evidence gathering, allegations of racism intensified, prompting the outgoing chief constable Sir Iain Thomas Livingstone to concede in 2023 that “Police Scotland is institutionally racist and discriminatory,” a position endorsed by his successor, Joanna Farrell.

Earlier this year, the Police Federation — itself heavily criticised — alongside PCs Craig Walker and Nicole Short called on the inquiry chair Lord Braccadale to recuse himself, arguing five meetings he had with the Bayoh family had “torpedoed the independence of the chair.”

But the counsel for the family argued that such meetings are a normal part of procedure in such cases, an argument Lord Braccadale accepted, with a spokeswoman for the inquiry stating he had “determined there is no apparent bias.”

Welcoming the decision on behalf of the Bayoh family, human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar called it a “humiliating and devastating indictment not just on the federation but also the solicitor general and Police Scotland.”

He went on to call Lord Braccadale a man “respected for his impartiality and integrity” and branded the move to remove him a “desperate last throw of the dice.”

“If the police, the federation, the Crown Office had succeeded, then they would have destroyed any hope of justice and accountability not just for the Bayoh family but for any other families in the future,” Mr Anwar said.

“For the Bayoh family, this was not a death in police custody, but suspected police killing. 

“The Crown Office, the Police Federation are accused of engaging in a deliberate and cynical attempt to escape scrutiny.

“Sheku, in his death, was dehumanised, smeared, stereotyped and stripped of his right to life.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Police Federation said: “Police officers will continue to call for a fair and transparent hearing, based on the evidence alone.”