Meeting to confirm new Northants fire officer postponed

Nikki Watson was expected to be confirmed as chief fire officer but could not attend the panel meeting

A meeting to confirm the controversial appointment of a new chief fire officer has been postponed.

Nikki Watson, the former deputy chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police, was set to take charge of Northants Fire and Rescue Service.

The Police, Fire and Crime Panel was due to confirm the appointment in the afternoon.

The 13:30 GMT meeting was told that Ms Watson had been called away at short notice and could not attend.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) had said it would boycott the meeting as Ms Watson had no firefighting experience.

Adam Taylor, the FBU's representative for the East Midlands, said: "Northamptonshire firefighters refuse to attend a meeting where a panel are expected to confirm a chief fire officer who has no experience of firefighting - for a second time in less than six months.

"Firefighters are sending a clear statement of no confidence in the decision-makers at the top of our service."

'Hounded from job'

The county's Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold survived a vote of no confidence in September after being criticised for appointing his friend Nicci Marzec to lead the service.

The FBU said she, too, had no operational firefighting experience.

In July, she quit after 10 days in the role. Mr Mold admitted an "error of judgement" in not involving the panel in her appointment.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton last week, he said: "Sadly Nicci's no longer with us - she was hounded out of her job.

"There are always lessons that you can learn. I would still have made the same decision, but I would have gone about it in a different way."

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

Asked if he had thought about leaving the role, Mr Mold said: "I swore an oath to make the people of Northamptonshire safer. I've taken that very seriously.

• BBC Sounds: 'Shenanigans' won't stop me serving county

"We've got an election, so sadly these shenanigans... if you like to try and make something out of nothing in some of the cases that we're looking at... and I'm afraid it'll probably be that all the way until May."

Adam Taylor of the FBU has called for Stephen Mold to step down

West Northamptonshire Labour group has written an open letter to David Smith, chairman of the panel, after he moved to bar members of the public from speaking at its meetings, starting with Wednesday's hearing.

Mr Smith outlined the change in a letter sent to panel members last month - and seen by the BBC.

He wrote that "there have not been public speakers at any of the previous confirmation hearings held in Northamptonshire".

Labour's Wendy Randall warned the Conservatives risked "adding fuel to the fire" by not leaving hearings open to wider scrutiny.