Shaun Wright resigns: South Yorkshire MP's reactions
Shaun Wright was elected as PCC for South Yorkshire in 2012
South Yorkshire MPs have given their response to the news that the county's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright has resigned over the Rotherham child abuse scandal.
Mr Wright faced repeated calls to step down after a report published on 26 August revealed at least 1,400 children were abused in the town between 1997 and 2013, and that the council and police had previously been made aware of the issues.
Mr Wright said he was stepping down to ensure the "important issues" in the report could be discussed and considered "without distraction".
Sarah Champion - Labour MP for Rotherham
"I am delighted that Shaun Wright has finally stepped down from his role as South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner. I called for his resignation as soon as the report was published as victims were failed while he was the council cabinet member responsible for children.
"I am extremely frustrated that it has taken Shaun Wright three weeks to resign as this has detracted from the real story, the victims. We must ensure that the focus of our efforts now is on supporting the victims, and bringing the perpetrators to justice."
Ms Champion told BBC Radio Sheffield it was a "double insult" that he hadn't done it as soon as the report was published, as he took attention away from the victims.
John Healey - Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne
"I strongly welcome Shaun Wright's resignation.
"It is the right move though too late - I called for him to step down, as did the Labour leader, straight after the Jay report was published.
"The police and crime commissioner is elected by the public to give them a voice and make the police more open and accountable. In light of the Jay report, Shaun Wright has lost public confidence and the mandate to carry out that role.
"As a Rotherham MP I am determined to help ensure that victims are put first, that South Yorkshire Police secure many more prosecutions and convictions and that action is taken in full on every one of Jay's recommendations."
Ed Miliband - Leader of the Labour Party, MP for Doncaster North
"It is right Shaun Wright has resigned. He was in a position of responsibility when the abuse scandal happened.
"Our focus now must be to listen to the victims and learn from the past to ensure this can never happen again."
Nick Clegg - Deputy Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat leader and MP for Sheffield Hallam
"People in South Yorkshire will welcome the news that the Police and Crime Commissioner has finally done the decent thing and stood aside.
"The important thing now is for the South Yorkshire Police to concentrate on going after the perpetrators of these terrible crimes so that the victims can finally see justice."
David Blunkett - Labour MP for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
"I am pleased that Shaun Wright has made the inevitable decision to stand down. He is correct to say that attention should be on redress for those abused, and on lessons to be learnt and measures put in place to deal with the situation that has occurred over the last two decades.
"I am personally very sad for Shaun Wright's family who did not deserve to be in the spotlight, which is why it is a great pity for him and for all concerned that he did not step down immediately.
"It will now be critically important to elect a police and crime commissioner with a proven record of high quality public service, who can unite across the political divide, the communities of South Yorkshire and reinforce the work of the chief constable in providing a top quality service to the people of our area who deserve the best."
Clive Betts - Labour MP for Sheffield South East
"It's the right decision. As Shaun Wright has said in that statement, he basically lost the confidence of the public which is the most important thing.
"He lost the confidence of people he has to work with and members of parliament, councils, the police - the panel came out the other day and said he should resign.
"It was becoming a distraction from the really important job of getting on and identifying all those young people who have been subject to exploitation and now are in great need of assistance and support.
"We had Joyce Thacker before the communities select committee, she came last week along with the council's chief executive and she said herself that she felt let down by Shaun Wright.
"She gave information to the committee that very important reports about child exploitation, while they'd been acted on, hadn't been presented to full cabinet. Shaun Wright wouldn't let them go there, so a lot of the transparency of the process people could've gained about the problems never came out in the public domain.
"That was very telling criticism of what happened in Rotherham at the time that Shaun Wright was responsible.
"It's up to Shaun Wright if he wants to apologise or not, at least now he's taken the proper step and resigned.
"In terms of Shaun Wright's job as police commissioner, he's done a pretty good job since he's been there. One of the things he's tried to concentrate on is more support and more resources for dealing with child exploitation.
"But in the end, it's his time at Rotherham where the spotlight is on and that's what he's been held to account for and why he's had to resign. You can't feel sorry there, except for children who've been abused."