Labour candidate in North Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner election calls on Philip Allott to resign

Alison Hume, Labour’s North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner candidate in May 2021, is calling on Philip Allott to step down with immediate effect.
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Mr Allott, who was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for York and North Yorkshire in the elections, said in an interview on Friday that Ms Everard, 33, should not have submitted to her false arrest by serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens.

Couzens used his warrant card to falsely arrest Ms Everard. He then kidnapped, raped and murdered her.

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Mr Allott also said women should be “streetwise” and learn their rights around arrests in the wake of Couzens’ crimes, which earlier this week saw him sentenced to life in prison.

Alison HumeAlison Hume
Alison Hume

Ms Hume said: “The victim blaming comments made today by Philip Allott about Sarah Everard and women generally are both shocking and offensive.

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"No-one who read the heart rending victim impact statement by Sarah Everard’s mother when she describes shouting out at the same time of the evening when her precious daughter was abducted, “Don’t get in the car Sarah!”, will ever forget it, and certainly no-one will ever forget Sarah Everard. The fact that Sarah came from the area Mr Allott was elected to represent make his comments even more grotesque."

Since making the comments, Mr Allott has apologised and said he has a 'lot to learn'. He also said he was urgently seeking meetings with women’s groups and charities to broaden his understanding of violence issues.

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"Mr Allott already had a huge job on his hands when he was elected, and it is clear from today that he simply isn’t up to it. Violence against women and girls is at epidemic proportions in York and North Yorkshire. How can Mr Allott hold the police force to account on our behalf with views which suggest women are somehow responsible for what happens to us at the hands of violent men? His hurried apology is simply not enough.

"I call on Philip Allott to resign with immediate effect."