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The latest complaint made against Scotland's chief constable would amount to gross misconduct if true, a watchdog has ruled.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) - the sixth to have been made against Phil Gormley.

Pirc has now said it is treating the case as potential gross misconduct.

Lawyers for Mr Gormley denounced the complaint as "spurious and contrived".

Pirc is now investigating four gross misconduct allegations against Mr Gormley.

Gross misconduct is classed as being so serious that dismissal may be justified.

The chief constable, who has been on special leave since September, denies all of the allegations against him.

His legal team said: "The allegation of misconduct dating back almost one year highlights the inadequacies of the system.

"In particular, the ease with which an apparent complaint is referred without reasonable due diligence or mature assessment as to the veracity or motivation of the complaint, or the opportunity for the chief constable to respond before a publicly announced inquiry is launched."

Meanwhile, Pirc also confirmed that it treating some of the latest allegations against Deputy Chief Constable Bernard Higgins as potential gross misconduct, and others as misconduct.

The commissioner was already carrying out two other investigations - one criminal and the other misconduct - into Mr Higgins, who also denies the allegations.

In a statement released on behalf of Mr Higgins, his lawyers said he had been the subject of anonymous allegations for years and all were found to be without merit.

It added: "We are surprised that the anonymous allegations have been referred for investigation given the full and detailed response that ACC Higgins has provided to all of the allegations, the facts of which are easily verifiable.

"ACC Higgins denies any wrongdoing and wishes the matter resolved promptly in order that he can resume his duties."

The announcements came as Mr Gormley's wife that he has still not been interviewed about the misconduct claims seven months after the allegations were first made.

Claire Gormley is a former senior police officer, and a former lead officer for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in England and Wales.

She criticised the handling of her husband's case by Pirc and Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, who has been accused of blocking Mr Gormley's return to work in November.

Mr Matheson denies acting inappropriately in the case.

Mrs Gormley also claimed her husband had been "vilified" in a "disproportionate fishing expedition" - and she had seen little evidence of an attempt to find out the truth.

Responding to Mrs Gormley's comments, a spokeswoman for Pirc said it "continues to carry out thorough and independent investigations into the various allegations about the chief constable and recognises their significance".

She added: "In each case, the Pirc has progressed these enquiries timeously and is conscious of the needs of both the complainers and the chief constable, all of whom seek a speedy outcome to these investigations.

"Pirc investigators have interviewed a substantial number of witnesses as part of the evidence gathering process to ascertain the full nature of the allegations which have been made.

"It is right and proper that these interviews took place before interviewing the chief constable.

"In response to a request by the Pirc, the chief constable has now provided a list of dates on which he is available for interview and the Pirc investigators are working to facilitate the necessary interviews."