THE family of Sheku Bayoh has welcomed the appointment of a new chair of the public inquiry into his death and condemned the “dinosaurs of the Scottish Police Federation” (SPF) who drove out his predecessor.

After being shackled hand and foot on a Kirkcaldy street with six police officers on top of him, Mr Bayoh died of asphyxiation on May 3 2015.

Amid persistent accusations of racism and incompetence in the handling of the aftermath by both police and prosecutors, then justice secretary Humza Yousaf called a public inquiry in 2019.

After hearing 122 days of evidence, however, its chairman, Lord Bracadale, resigned in October 2025, when the SPF argued that he had lost their confidence over meetings he held with the family. 

On Wednesday, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced Lord Colbeck would take the position, a move welcomed by the Bayoh family in a statement through their lawyer, Aamer Anwar.

Mr Anwar said: “The evidence has been heard, can be seen and read — it is time to restart the stopwatch.”

In a swipe at the SPF’s actions in forcing the last chair out, he added: “The dinosaurs of the SPF might well live in a parallel universe, deny institutional racism, whilst demanding a fatal accident inquiry — but they have failed.

“Our criminal justice system over 10 years stands accused of smearing, lying and distorting the facts to criminalise, stereotype and negate Sheku’s right to life, but they cannot disregard the damning evidence that emerged over three years of the inquiry.”

SPF general secretary David Kennedy said: “We are confident that under Lord Colbeck’s leadership, the inquiry will remain focused on establishing facts and learning lessons, rather than assigning blame.”