Northants police and fire commissioner survives no confidence vote

Stephen Mold appointed Nicci Marzec on 7 July but she stood down a few days later

Northamptonshire's police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold has survived a vote of no confidence at a key council meeting.

Mr Mold had been criticised for appointing his friend Nicci Marzec to the post of interim chief fire officer.

The motion of no confidence in Mr Mold was proposed at a meeting of West Northamptonshire's Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

It was defeated by nine votes to three.

The motion of no confidence had been proposed by Zoe McGhee (Labour) and an independent member of the panel, Anita Shields.

After the vote, the panel recommended:

• Improved communication between the commissioner and the panel

• Extra training for the commissioner

• A new definition of "close personal relationships" in the commissioner's code of conduct

Chris Kemp, from the FBU, hoped Stephen Mold would "do the right thing"

Earlier, Northamptonshire firefighters who wanted the county's police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) to resign staged a protest outside the Guildhall, where the meeting took place.

Union members had passed their own vote of no confidence in Mr Mold, saying that Ms Marzec, who had been the head of paid service in Mr Mold's office, had no operational firefighting experience.

They also believed the Panel should have been consulted about the appointment.

The commissioner accepted he made an "error of judgment".

He added that he had "acted in haste" and "strongly wished that he had involved the panel".

Ms Marzec resigned 10 days after taking the position.

Chris Kemp, the Fire Brigades Union's (FBU) secretary for Northamptonshire, said: "I'm hoping Mr Mold will do the decent thing and resign - that would be the best outcome for the fire service and Northamptonshire."