Philip Allott: "Doing what's right is hard!"
Outgoing North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott has been sharing his reaction to resigning.
Last updated 15th Oct 2021
Outgoing North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott has tweeted to say "doing what's right is hard" after his resignation yesterday.
In a statement yesterday he said: 'I had hoped I could rebuild trust, to restore confidence. I was pleased that so many victims groups had accepted that I was genuinely sorry and were willing to work with me to help me in the mammoth task I had ahead.
'Following this morning’s (14th October) meeting of the Police and Crime Panel it seems clear to me that the task will be exceptionally difficult, if it is possible at all. It would take a long time and a lot of resources of my office and the many groups who do excellent work supporting victims.
'This is time victims do not have'.
However, this was then followed by a tweet from his account where he said: "I am so sorry I cannot deliver on my program of preventing MVAWGs (Male Violence Against Women and Girls). Doing what's right is hard!"
A vote of no confidence passed unanimously yesterday at the local Police, Fire and Crime Panel.
Reacting to the resignation, City of York Councillor Darryl Smalley - who submitted the motion - told Greatest Hits Radio: "I'm pleased, but aware that this is where the hard work starts. None of us wanted to go into that meeting with Philip Allott still in post.
"I'm very pleased that colleagues of all parties supported the motion, but the hard work starts now of rebuilding the trust of women and girls across North Yorkshire.
"I think it should have been obvious to him of the depth of feeling across communities. I've had residents coming up to me and asking why he's still in post, and we've heard some really powerful testimonies from staff in his own office and local councillors.
"I know he says he's done the honourable thing (in resigning) but frankly that's ridiculous; the honourable thing would have been to have resigned the afternoon after he said those comments.
"There will be an appointment of an acting PFCC, and then we'll have a by-election. All parties need to put forward candidates with a proper track record of tackling violence against women and girls".
York Central MP Rachael Maskell says Mr Allott should have resigned a lot sooner: "It was absolutely right that Philip Allott resigned, but it shouldn't have taken him two weeks to come to that conclusion.
"His comments were abhorrent, not just about Sarah but also about the decisions that women and girls take. To put the blame on a victim of crime in the way that he did made it even worse for confidence in the police.
"Even when there was a vote of no confidence he did not have the insight to understand how serious his conduct has been. I welcome this resignation and of course this means we need a process to elect a replacement.
"I hope the candidate that comes forward - and is elected - is somebody that really does focus on women's safety and ensures that that is their prime concern.
"We need to ensure that women's voices are heard in policing and that we can rebuild that confidence that our city and our country urgently needs. We need to be safe to walk our streets again, and this resignation has opened up an opportunity for a new conversation across North Yorkshire".