Prescott: ‘elections will prevent police failings’

LORD Prescott, the most high-profile candidate for the new Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) elections, says he believes the role will prevent some of the police failures in the cover-up which followed Hillsborough from happening again.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Sep 2012, 07:00 BST

The former Deputy Prime Minister and candidate for the new role in Humberside which will have the power to hire and fire chief constables, said he was “absolutely appalled” by what he heard from the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s findings.

“We’ll now be judged on whether we’re going to deal with these forces in a more effective way, and it’s not before time,” Lord Prescott added.

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“And I might say, I think a PCC might be an another interesting way of holding some of our police to account when, at the moment, they don’t appear to be. “Now, of course, we now recognise that the police were acting wrongly and against the trust the people have in them.

“They actually changed all the evidence.

“Now that is criminal and really I can’t believe those people who are now saying ‘I didn’t really know about it’.”

Meanwhile Geraldine Carter, the Conservative PCC candidate for West Yorkshire, said: “If there is some evidence to prove that Sir Norman Bettison had involvement in altering statements or anything like that then he ought to resign.

“I read his statement and I am somewhat surprised and disappointed that given the opportunity that was there for him to apologise – he did not.”

Lord Prescott was speaking in Hull yesterday at the launch of his attempt to be elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside in November.