Northamptonshire PFCC will not resign over fire chief saga

Stephen Mold appointed Nicci Marzac on 7 July but she stood down amid speculation about their friendship

An under-fire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner has said he will not resign over the appointment of an interim fire chief.

Stephen Mold, the commissioner, appointed Nicci Marzec as interim chief fire officer on 7 July.

She stood down 10 days later amid speculation over her friendship with Mr Mold, who has faced calls to quit.

Mr Mold said he acted with "too much haste" and apologised for "getting it wrong".

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) criticised Ms Marzec's appointment saying she had "no operational understanding of the role".

Nicci Marzec was appointed interim fire chief for Northamptonshire by Mr Mold but stood down

Simon Tuhilll, who started as deputy chief on Tuesday, is currently acting in the role vacated by Ms Marzec. His role is expected to be confirmed next week.

Ms Marzec's appointment was made after previous incumbent Mark Jones said he was resigning to concentrate on recovering from injury.

The Fire Brigades Union said Mr Mold should resign over the appointment, and the Conservative has faced strong criticism from opposition parties and members of the police, fire and crime panel.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton on Friday, the commissioner said by appointing Ms Marzec he was trying to give Mr Tuhill "some head room to come in and get to know Northamptonshire".

He also said it was the intention to then recruit a permanent chief fire officer, which he said would still happen next month

"But all of that has got lost in translation", he added.

Mr Mold has reiterated that, although he and Ms Marzec are friends, they are not in a relationship.

Simon Tuhilll is expected to be confirmed as interim chief fire officer next week

Mr Mold said he appointed her due to the need for there to be a fire chief ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

He also said Ms Marzec "had the capability" to address concerns raised by fire service watchdog over the culture of the service and its diversity.

But Mr Mold admitted he acted too quickly and "was not clear enough about" the reasons for her appointment.

He said much of the criticism of Ms Marzec was about "politics and ideology" as she did not have front line experience, but he said there other fire services, such as Kent, where that was also the case.

Mr Mold added: "Essentially I've made one mistake in seven years... and I hold my hands up and say I'm absolutely sorry for this.

"But I have got lots of good work going on, the last thing [the public] need is for me to stand down and have to have an election."

How the saga unfolded

• 7 July - Mark Jones steps down and Nicci Marzec appointed as interim fire chief.

• 7-9 July - The British Grand Prix at Silverstone takes place, the biggest event in the county with about 450,000 spectators over three days.

• 9 July - FBU criticise Ms Marzec's lack of front line experience.

• 14 July - Ms Marzec defends her position but reiterates it is only temporary.

• 17 July - PFCC announces Ms Marzec will step down from the role of interim fire chief.

• 18 July - Deputy fire chief Simon Tuhilll starts work with the service and immediately begins acting up as chief.

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