A senior police boss has resigned weeks after urging women to be “streetwise” – making him the first senior figure to publicly step down in connection to the Sarah Everard case.
North Yorkshire police commissioner Philip Allott stunned people when he told BBC Yorkshire on October 1: “So women, first of all, need to be streetwise about when they can be arrested and when they can’t.”
He added that Sarah Everard, who was put under false arrest, raped and murdered by a then-serving police officer, should “never have been arrested and submitted to that”.
He resigned on Thursday after a vote of no confidence in his leadership from the Police and Crime Panel.
His statement read: “I apologise unreservedly for my remarks. They do not reflect my views. I misspoke and I am devastated at the effect that this has had on victims of crime and the groups that support them.”
Allott added that it was clear the task of regaining the public’s “trust” was going to be “exceptionally difficult, if possible at all”, so he decided to do “the honourable thing” and resign as police, fire and crime commissioner.
He expressed hope that this would restore confidence in his office, and allow “victims’ voices to be heard clearly without the distraction of the continued furore which surrounds me”.
However Allott is only the first person to resign in the fallout from the Everard’s case.
Other major public figures within the police – including Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick – have faced calls to resign over the fallout from Everard’s case, but have resisted.
Wayne Couzens, the serving police officer who murdered Everard, was fired once he pleaded guilty in July. He was arrested in March, six days after Everard was reported missing.
Twitter understandably had a few things to say about Allott’s resignation, especially in light of the ongoing conversations around women’s safety.