Northamptonshire police and fire commissioner's year of troubles

Stephen Mold will not stand again for election as Northamptonshire's police, fire and crime commissioner

A police, fire and crime commissioner has announced he will not stand again after receiving unprecedented criticism from the head of his fire and police services, unions, fellow Conservatives and opposition politicians.

How did it go so wrong for Stephen Mold, and where does that leave Northamptonshire's police officers, firefighters and the public?

Who is Stephen Mold?

Stephen Mold was first elected as police and crime commissioner in 2016

The Conservative was elected the county's police and crime commissioner in 2016.

In 2019, he was one of a handful of commissioners to take on responsibility for their local fire service as well, and his position became police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC).

Voted for by the public, he holds the police force and the fire service to account.

The PFCC hires and dismisses the chief constable and the chief fire officer, and sets the budgets for both organisations.

Mr Mold was re-elected in 2021 with 53% of the first preference vote on a turnout of about 35%.

Where did it start to go wrong?

Stephen Mold was the public face of police and fire service initiatives in the county

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has not supported the idea of a commissioner overseeing a fire service.

But it was particularly critical of Mr Mold's decision to appoint Mark Jones as chief fire officer, claiming he was "divisive" during his time as chief of the fire service in Buckinghamshire.

Mr Jones took over in Northamptonshire in October 2022, but left in July 2023 saying that he had to concentrate on recovering from injuries.

It was on the eve of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, one of the biggest events for the service.

As his replacement, Nicci Marzec was appointed chief fire officer on an interim basis.

Nicci Marzec was appointed interim fire chief for Northamptonshire by Stephen Mold

The move was widely criticised, primarily by the FBU, because she had no operational firefighting experience and had been working in the PFCC's office as director of early intervention and head of paid service.

There was also criticism about the fact the pair were already friends.

She stepped down from her role on 17 July, just 10 days after she was appointed.

Simon Tuhill, who was due to start work as the deputy chief fire officer on 18 July, found himself propelled straight into the chief fire officer's role on an interim basis, becoming the third person to lead the service in the space of a month.

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

But later that month, 27 Conservative councillors signed a letter saying he should not be the party's candidate for the post at the next election.

Investigations and a suspension

Nick Adderley has been suspended by Northamptonshire Police pending an investigation

In October 2023, Chief Constable Nick Adderley, who Mr Mold had recently reappointed, was suspended during an investigation into his conduct over the wearing of military medals.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating offences of misconduct in public office and fraud by false representation.

As far as the fire service was concerned, in November the PFCC announced that his preferred candidate for chief fire officer was Nikki Watson.

Concerns were immediately raised about her lack of experience of firefighting, as she had spent the previous 36 years working with police forces, including in Avon & Somerset.

• Why has Northants struggled to get a fire chief?

It later emerged that she, too, was under investigation by the IOPC.

The IOPC confirmed that a senior officer from Avon & Somerset Police was under investigation regarding their attendance at a policing conference in 2023 and whether proper policies and procedures were followed.

Nikki Watson (centre, in black) appeared at a Police, Fire and Crime Panel with Stephen Mold to confirm her appointment

The Police, Fire and Crime Panel confirmed Ms Watson's appointment, despite some members of the panel receiving large numbers of representations from firefighters and the public calling on her to be rejected.

Then, earlier this month the NN Journal reported that Mr Mold used a derogatory term for Ms Watson during a meeting at Moulton fire station.

He apologised, saying he "immediately regretted" the words he had used, but at least two Conservative councillors made complaints to their party.

He was also criticised by fellow Tory André González de Savage during a Police, Fire and Crime Panel later that day.

Pressure began to mount on Mr Mold, with criticism both from within his own party and from the Labour and Liberal Democrat PFCC candidates.

At 17:00 GMT on Friday 15 March, he announced he would not seek re-election.

Criticism continues

Police Federation county chair Sam Dobbs said Stephen Mold had "lost all credibility"

Despite saying he would stand down, he continued to receive more criticism, including from the National Police Chief's Council, who called his comments "abhorrent and unacceptable".

The Police Federation said it had received "unprecedented feedback" from members and asked Mr Mold to stay away from its events that it had "planned around misogyny".

Acting Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said it was "a disgraceful episode which has let down our officers and staff, particularly our female workforce, and deeply offended the wider public".

Mr Tuhill, the acting chief fire officer, said Mr Mold's comments were "hurtful and damaging", while the FBU called for Mr Mold to resign immediately despite there being an election for the post on 2 May.

Mr Mold has not commented again since he said he would stand down, and did not accept an offer to speak to the BBC.

One of the first things the new PFCC will have to deal with is the postponed misconduct hearing into suspended Chief Constable Nick Adderley, which is scheduled for the end of May.

Incoming fire chief Nikki Watson is also yet to take up her post.