Formal complaint to be lodged after Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner censured.
A formal complaint will be filed after members of the Sussex Police & Crime Panel agreed to condemn the Police & Crime Commissioner.
During a meeting at the end of January, a vote was approved declaring that the Panel had ‘lost confidence’ in Katy Bourne after she joined a march against the housing of asylum seekers at a military base in Crowborough. A spokesperson has since confirmed:
“The Office of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner will be lodging a formal complaint challenging the legal basis of the Panel’s motion.”However, others have endorsed the Panel’s conclusion.
Mrs Bourne was accused of ‘inflaming communal tensions’ by Sussex Liberal Democrats, who urged her to ‘examine her stance’ and’reflect upon the significant concerns voiced about her judgement’.
Tracie Bangert, a member of the Panel and a Chichester District Councillor, stated:
“I am deeply committed to, and have a strong record on, cross-party working, but I believe Katy Bourne’s conduct calls her position into question, and undermines the police, whose role is to prevent crime across all communities and protect the vulnerable.”
Mrs Bourne is the Conservative contender for the first Mayor of Sussex in 2028. In addition to participating in the march, she has encouraged the government to consider requiring asylum applicants to wear electronic tags.
Josh Babarinde, MP for Eastbourne, said the county was being let down by a Police and Crime Commissioner who appears to be more interested with campaigning for her next position than rebuilding a policing system that the previous Conservative Government undermined.
Mrs Bourne expressed amazement at what she described as ‘a coordinated personal attack on my integrity’ by certain Panel members.
She continued, “My position is to be the public’s voice in policing, and I will continue to carry out my obligations without fear or favour.
“The residents of Crowborough will have been very disappointed to see Panel members dismiss their genuine concerns and the confused attempt to portray my efforts as fuelling community tensions.”
Adrian Moss, leader of Chichester District Council, stated that police had advised councils and councillors not to speak out about the situation in Crowborough, whether in support or opposition, due to worries about ‘the potential for protests to go beyond intimidation into communal violence’.
He went on to say, “The fact that Katy Bourne ran for Mayor of Sussex is irrelevant.” She did not specify the capacity in which she was acting.
In any case, she was and still is the Police and Crime Commissioner, and her actions should be expected to complement, not undermine, the police force she oversees.”
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