Tories call for fire commissioner to be dropped as candidate

Conservative councillor Scott Brown said concerns about Stephen Mold would "all but guarantee a Labour victory" in the next PFCC election

Tory politicians say the beleaguered Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Stephen Mold should not represent the party in the next election for the post.

Some 27 councillors have signed a letter saying the candidate selection process should be re-run.

Mr Mold appointed a friend with no operational firefighting experience as interim chief fire officer.

The PFCC said he was "obviously disappointed" by the letter.

Stephen Mold was elected to the post in Northamptonshire in 2016,

The role is up for election next year and Mr Mold has been selected by the local Conservative party to be their candidate again.

In July, Mr Mold chose the chief of paid service in his office, Nicci Marzec, to be the county's interim fire chief.

She resigned 10 days later amid speculation over their relationship and criticism from the Fire Brigades Union that she had no operational experience for the role.

Stephen Mold said he was "disappointed" by the letter signed by his fellow Tories

Mr Mold survived a vote of no confidence in his leadership at a meeting of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel, made up of politicians and lay members, last week.

After the no confidence vote, Scott Brown, a Conservative on North Northamptonshire Council, wrote a letter asking the Conservative area committee to "re-evaluate" the adoption of Mr Mold as their candidate.

Mr Brown said: "I take the Nolan Principles [of conduct in public office] extremely seriously and I believe he is the wrong side of those."

He told the BBC that the letter, signed by him and 26 other councillors, was supposed to have been an internal document and he had assured the signatories it would remain within the party.

"I apologise to each of the signatories of that letter - it was supposed to be an internal mail," he said.

"I gave them assurances that it would be internal and that's obviously not the case so I take responsibility for that."

Concerns 'scrutinised'

Mr Brown added that he believed Mr Mold should stay in office until the 2024 election as he had "brought great investment into the area [and] we have more police in Northamptonshire than we've ever had before".

The letter, however, added: "Questions will remain regarding Mr Mold's authority if he remains the candidate in the upcoming election.

"It is apparent to us that this issue will overshadow any forthcoming election campaign, and feel it will all but guarantee a Labour victory."

Stephen Mold told the BBC: "I am obviously disappointed by the letter, especially given the outcome from the Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

"The concerns raised have all been scrutinised by the panel and the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] and I am committed to implementing the recommendations and making the relevant improvements."