Sarah Everard case fallout: North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner was right to resign says Harrogate MP

The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough has reacted to news of Phillip Allott's resignation as North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner saying he had "done the right thing" in standing down from the role after his remarks about the Sarah Everard case.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said: "In resigning, Philip Allott has done the right thing.  Some may say he left it too long to reach that conclusion."Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said: "In resigning, Philip Allott has done the right thing.  Some may say he left it too long to reach that conclusion."
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said: "In resigning, Philip Allott has done the right thing. Some may say he left it too long to reach that conclusion."

Commenting on the news, Andrew Jones MP said: “People who know me are aware it is not my style to rush to knee-jerk reactions or engage in megaphone politics.

"That is true when it comes to Philip Allott’s continuation as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

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"I have given Philip the space and time to see if he can rebuild trust and confidence in himself.

"But as I have done so I have only observed his ability to rebuild that trust diminishing.

“In resigning, Philip has done the right thing. Some may say he left it too long to reach that conclusion.

“But following events over the past few days he now knows that it was impossible to erase the comments he made on Radio York.

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"He now realises that no amount of apologies are going to enable him to restore the position and enable him to concentrate on supporting victims effectively.

Mr Jones continued: “Phillip could have simply ignored the calls for him to go; no one could have removed him.

"But Philip has put the office he held ahead of his personal situation and protected the reputation of and confidence in that office by relinquishing it.

"I hope, too, he has also made it easier for victims to be heard by ensuring that, once again, they become the focus of our attention.

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“Now he has resigned my hope is that we can move on as a county to think again about how we support victims and how we change the culture that leads to violence against women and girls.

"One resignation does not achieve that. There is much to do to make it happen. That must be our focus now.”