Police and Crime tsar quits Tories to be independent

COMES AS HER ROLE AS PCC IS SET TO BE ABOLISHED IN 2028

- By ALISON STEPHENSON

POLICE and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez has stepped down from the Conservative Party and will serve the rest of her term as an Independent.

Ms Hernandez says she doesn’t want party politics to get in the way of ensuring the best deal for the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

She was elected as a Conservative to the role in 2016 and is serving her third term.

The role of police and crime commissioner will be abolished by the government in 2028.

Further police reforms are expected to be announced in the coming weeks when the government is due to publish a white paper.

Ms Hernandez said: "I have decided to step away from party politics and become an Independent. I believe it will enable me to fight to secure the policing resources we have in Devon and Cornwall - 43% of which is funded by all of us through our council tax."

She said she was worried by the imminent white paper on policing.

"Rushed timescales, work done in secret with little consultation, this feels like something being done to the police and the people, not being done with or for us.