Police commissioner decides to stand down after sexist slur about fire boss
After our exclusive story revealing he had called his chief fire officer a ‘bitch’ Northants police, fire and crime commissioner has announced he will leave the role.
By Sarah Ward
Northants’ police fire and crime commissioner has announced this evening he will not stand for re-election following our expose of his misogynistic comments about the county’s new chief fire officer.
At 5pm this evening Stephen Mold’s office put out a statement to say he will not seek re-election at the May 2 elections following our exposure of comments he made on March 1 at Moulton fire station about Nikki Watson.
When asked what he would do if the new fire boss was not cleared in a current misconduct investigation he said ‘I’ll dump the bitch’.
He said tonight he accepts he made a ‘significant mistake’ and ‘failed to set an example’.
His decision comes following mounting pressure from his own party with a number of local councillors talking to the media today to denounce his comments, saying his role was no longer tenable. There was also outrage within the police and fire services about what he had said.
Mold’s statement, which went out to fire service staff before a media announcement, said:
“The language I used was not acceptable. It has had a significant impact, not just on the officers and staff of Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, but on the wider public. I take full responsibility and I apologise as strongly as I can for what I said.
“I will not seek re-election as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. I accept I made a significant mistake and I can’t take back what I said. I will therefore do the right thing for both organisations and the people of Northamptonshire.
“I am immensely proud of what I have achieved as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Northamptonshire Police has more officers than ever before, has improved significantly, and it has ambitious plans to tackle the issues that really matter to people in their communities.
“I took over governance of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, have invested in staff, equipment and appliances. I have huge admiration for what they do and believe they have a service they can be proud of.
“I know that culture is one of the biggest challenges facing both services, and it was up to me to set an example. I have failed on that with the language I used, and I really am sorry that I have let people down. I have the utmost respect for the challenging work that our police and fire officers and staff do.
“There are many achievements in Office that I am proud of. The early intervention, domestic abuse, victims and youth work that I championed have made a difference to people’s lives – I know that, and I am proud of all the staff who work so hard to make a difference and to say it is something I had a part in.
“But I can’t allow my mistake to overshadow all the excellent work taking place to keep people safe in Northamptonshire.
“Public life is hard – the public spotlight is relentless at times and the pressure intolerable. No-one can remain immune to that and the toll it has taken on me and those around me has been significant.
“For all these reasons, I will stand aside at the election. I believe I leave both Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service in a much better place - and this is clearly the right thing to do.”
His decision comes after many months of scandal, which began with the inappropriate appointment of his ‘close friend’ Nicci Marzec to the job of chief fire officer in July following the sudden departure of Mark Jones. Mold appointed Marzec without even consulting the police, fire and crime panel, or considering anyone else for the £140,000 job. Marzec quit after ten days and his decision to appoint Nikki Watson again gained criticism, as she had no operational fire experience, having recently retired as a senior officer from Avon and Somerset Police.
As exclusively revealed by ourselves, Watson is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), relating to a police conference event, and cannot start in post until the misconduct investigation is decided.
Yesterday the IOPC said it was still ongoing.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has been critical of Stephen Mold for many months, protesting outside public meetings and speaking out against his actions.
Following Mold’s decision, FBU rep Adam Taylor, said:
“The decision to not stand at the next election is the minimum expected of the disgraced Police Fire Crime Commissioner, Mr Mold.
“Firefighters have been calling for his resignation for some time, unfortunately he didn’t heed the anger of firefighters and the public, and has created further anger and offended many with this latest scandal.
“Firefighters want a credible, honest and professional governance of their service. The past eight months have demonstrated many issues with the PFCC model - which must be recognised by government ministers. The governance of Northants Fire needs to be subject to an independent inquiry.
“Our members are proud firefighters on fire engines and in control rooms, they can now focus on doing what they do, looking after their communities, without the continuous scandals Mr Mold brings."
One Northants Conservative association had last night passed a vote of no confidence in Stephen Mold, which they had submitted to the local area Tory committee. A number of Conservatvie councillors, mainly from the West of the county, had also written to Conservative HQ to say Stephen Mold should be removed as the candidate for the forthcoming elections.
So far Lib Dem Ana Savage Gunn and Labour’s Danielle Stone have announced their intention to stand.
Following this evening’s news Danielle Stone said:
“The present Northants PFCC, Stephen Mold, has disgraced the office of Commissioner.
“He has made five appointments to chief constable in eight years. He has made four appointments to the Role of Chief of Fire and Rescue just in the last 12 months. His most recent appointment Nikki Watson cannot take up her post because she is under investigation by the IOPC. Both services have interim chiefs. This is very under-minding of services struggling to provide excellent services, to build trust with the public, to recruit and retain staff and to improve staff morale. In July he tried to shoehorn his very good friend Nicci Marzec into the role of Fire chief. He has betrayed his office further by making misogynistic remarks about Nikki Watson.
“It is right that he has been forced to step down as a candidate in the forth coming election on May 2nd for the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Commissioner.”
Job well done, NNJ, bringing to light the last despicable twist in this awful man's tale. No chance of him being sacked, of course.
If it were not for the investigations of Sarah and this publication, his transgressions would largely be unknown and engagement with the electorate being as low as it is, he would have likely returned to carry on with his cronyism. I totally agree he should go now, however if that were to happen we would be in the emergency situation of no Police Chief nor Fire Chief as both are under investigation and then no PFCC to direct any replacements. The fact we are even in such a situation speaks volumes about how poor Mold's leadership has been, getting propped up by the toothless Police Crime Panel for as long as he has been.