The conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon has joined calls for the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire to “go” over the comments he made about the Sarah Everard case.
Philip Allott is facing mounting criticism after he suggested that women “need to be streetwise” and that Ms Everard, who was from York but lived in London, “never should have submitted” to arrest.
During the sentencing of Wayne Couzens, the Met Police Officer who killed her, it emerged he tricked Ms Everard by falsely arresting her for a breach of Covid-19 guidelines. He handcuffed her and forced her into his car.
Mr Allott was speaking in a radio interview on BBC Radio York.
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Julian Smith MP said on Twitter the comments were completely unacceptable and the Commissioner has lost the trust of women.
On Thursday the Police and Crime Panel, made up of local councillors, meets to discuss the PFCC’s future. Mr Smith says he has made his thoughts known to them.
Mr Allott says he’s staying on even though the petition for him to resign has over 10,000 signatures now.
He has made two apologies and given one TV interview to BBC Look North about the subject.
He said that he was deeply sorry but it was more important that he carry through the mandate he was elected to do. His response to the petition was that he had got 83,000 votes in the election.
Former North Yorkshire Commissioner Julia Mulligan, herself a victim of rape when she was 15, praised the tweet by Julain Smith.
She said “thank you for speaking out”