Police boss who said women need to be ‘streetwise’ after Sarah Everard murder resigns

Philip Allott had initially refused calls for him to resign

The police boss who said women needed to be more "streetwise" in the wake of the Sarah Everard murder has resigned. Philip Allott, who oversees North Yorkshire police and the region’s fire service, was criticised last week after making the comment to the BBC, and suggesting women needed to learn more about the powers of arrest and “a bit about that legal process”. The comment arose after former Met officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to a whole life sentence for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive who he stopped under the guise of a fake Covid stop, before handcuffing and abducting her. The Conservative commissioner was on Thursday told that there was a “catastrophic lack of confidence” in his position, The Guardian reported. In an extraordinary meeting of North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime panel on Thursday, Allott admitted making a “major mistake” in a “car crash” radio interview, the newspaper reported, but refused to resign despite a unanimous vote of no confidence. https://twitter.com/philAllottPFCC/status/1443954284048039945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1443954284048039945%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.joe.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D291708action%3Dedit Three hours later he announced his intention to quit, saying he “ had hoped I could rebuild trust, to restore confidence" but that it was clear, following the meeting, "that the task will be exceptionally difficult, if it is possible at all". Related links Police boss slammed for saying women need to be 'streetwise' after Sarah Everard murder Met Police advise women to ‘shout or wave a bus down’ if they don’t trust a male officer Sarah Everard's mum's heartbreaking statement in full Wayne Couzens will never be released from jail over kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard