Complaints over 'not stale, pale and male' remark

Chris Nelson will not face sanctions for the remarks

A complaints hearing has been held into a police and crime commissioner's use of the terms "not stale, pale and male" during a BBC radio interview.

Gloucestershire police and crime commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson used the words in October 2024 to describe the appointment of then interim Gloucestershire chief constable Maggie Blyth.

Gloucestershire's police and crime panel complaints sub-committee met in private to discuss complaints about the PCC's choice of words, with one complainant concerned it would deter male applicants from applying for future roles.

The radio interview took place in the aftermath of the suspension of Gloucestershire Constabulary Chief Constable Rod Hansen last year.

In the radio interview, Mr Nelson said Ms Blyth was "a breath of fresh air because she is not stale, pale and male".

But a complainant took issue with the comments, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"PCC Nelson said on BBC Radio Gloucestershire that the interim chief constable is a breath of fresh air because she is not stale, male and pale," they said.

"In doing so he has implied CC Hansen's leadership was stale and has used gender, race and age as the reason."

"PCC Nelson has shown bias against white, male, mature applicants and is likely to put applicants with those protective characteristics at a disadvantage when compared to an applicant who does not have those characteristics."

'No sanctions'

A separate complainant felt the praise was disproportionate and indicated a preference for Ms Blyth.

Before the public was excluded from Thursday's complaints meeting, Chairman Steve Robinson said there would be no sanctions against Mr Nelson.

"The sub-committee's role is to facilitate informal and formal resolution. This is about solving, explaining, clearing up or settling a matter directly with the complainant without investigation or formal proceedings.

"It's not a disciplinary process and does not involve any sanctions."

An Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner spokesperson said: "The PCC will wait to hear from the panel before making any comment on today's proceedings.

"He feels it would be disrespectful to say anything before the process has concluded."

If the outcome from the hearing is made public it will be in about two weeks time.