The Thirsk and Malton Labour party call on Philip Allott, the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, to resign immediately following his disgraceful interview on Radio York today.

The whole country is universally appalled at yesterday’s revelations that a serving police officer arrested Sarah Everard in a public place with the sole intention to rape and to kill her. Everyone who heard the facts yesterday understood that Sarah Everard was completely unable to avoid her fate once the police officer identified himself as a member of the police force, she had no way to escape.

Yet, having had 24 hours to digest these facts Philip Allott, the man responsible to the citizens of North Yorkshire for holding the North Yorkshire police force to account, tells us that Sarah Everard should have resisted arrest and further, that women should take responsibility to know more about police and legal processes. He chose to blame women for men’s violence towards them.

Thirsk and Malton Labour party hold that he was expressing his own conclusion from the revelations of yesterday and that his subsequent apology is false and simply expresses his regret to the reaction to his comments, a reaction of universal condemnation.

We call for his immediate resignation and state that he is wholly unsuitable to represent the citizens of North Yorkshire and especially unsuitable to represent women in the county.

Thirsk & Malton Constituency Labour Party