Ex-Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner will not face criminal action

Jason Ablewhite was elected as a police and crime commissioner in 2016

A former police and crime commissioner (PCC) will not be prosecuted over his conduct on social media.

Jason Ablewhite resigned as Cambridgeshire and Peterborough PCC last November after an investigation started into messages sent on Twitter.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation it will not take any further action.

An appeal against the CPS decision has been made.

Mr Ablewhite, who had been PCC for three years at the time he resigned, has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The former Conservative leader of Huntingdonshire District Council had also stood down from his role as a councillor on the authority when the police investigation started.

A spokesman for the IOPC confirmed the CPS "has decided to take no further action after we submitted a file of evidence from our investigation into a complaint against the former police and crime commissioner for Cambridgeshire".

The IOPC said the "complainant now has the option to exercise their right to review the decision".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the CPS confirmed an appeal had been made against its decision not to prosecute.

In November, the IOPC had said initial information indicated Mr Ablewhite had exchanged a series of messages with an adult member of the public on social media.

The former PCC has never been arrested or charged with any offence.