A new government boss has come under fire over his past criticism of a Freedom of Information story run by a regional daily.

Campaigners have criticised David Hamilton, who is to become Scottish Information Commissioner in October, over previous remarks he made about the Dundee Evening Telegraph.

In 2020, the Evening Telegraph reported a police car had recorded a speed of 136mph.

The story was based on an FoI request the newspaper had sent to Police Scotland.

At the time, Mr Hamilton posted on Twitter: “The Evening Telegraph [is] getting a roasting for this Festive Season’s ‘Crud of the Year’ story.

“We simply can’t afford to spend precious resources on researching this guff.

“I’m a great believer in transparency but is it time to review FOI legislation in light of commercial media abuse?”

The comments by Mr Hamilton, is a former chair and vice chair of the Scottish Police Federation, have been criticised by the National Union of Journalists and freedom of information campaigners

NUJ Scotland organiser Nick McGowan-Lowe told Glasgow-based investigative news title The Ferret: “It is of significant concern to us when someone is appointed to such a finely-balanced role who has a past history of criticising journalistic requests.”

Carole Ewart, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, added: “These social media conversations would have been identified by the Scottish Parliament after the most basic due diligence process.

“As the independent regulator of the Scottish FoI regime, the commissioner needs to protect the rights of requesters.

“Importantly, FoI law is applicant blind and the motivation for making an enforceable information request is immaterial to the process.”

Mr Hamilton told The Ferret that it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for him to comment before he took up his new post in October.