MP urges West Midlands PCC to ditch 'political crusade'

Conservative MP Eddie Hughes said the ‘requires improvement’ grade received by West Midlands Police in an official report was ‘deeply disappointing’.

He said the grade proved that the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson was failing to meet his responsibility over public safety.

His comments follow a report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, which gave the force a third tier rating of ‘requires improvement’ for its overall effectiveness.

Labour PCC Mr Jamieson has been a long term critic of the Government for slashing police budgets.

He has called for the Prime Minister to apologise over claims that forces were being given an extra £450m over the next year.

Theresa May’s statement was ruled to be ‘misleading’ by the UK Statistics Authority.

Walsall North MP Mr Hughes said: “The police and crime commissioner was very cutting in his comments about police funding, so it is particularly interesting to see his performance when put up against his peers.

“The fact that West Midlands Police has been given a rating of ‘requires improvement’ shows that he is not doing very well in comparison to other commissioners.

“Instead of constantly complaining about police funding he should be redoubling his efforts into improving the performance of the force.

“In his crusade he is very keen to ramp up the political aspect of his argument by blaming the Government.

“It is time he focused on ensuring people in the West Midlands get the best possible service from the police.

“This is a deeply disappointing report that shows that the region’s police and crime commissioner is not meeting his responsibility to ensure the public are kept safe.”

In response, Mr Jamieson said: "Eddie has been voting for cuts to our force’s budget in parliament and coming back to Walsall and complaining about the consequences.

"The force has been hit far harder than other areas, and that has contributed towards the issues the inspectorate have highlighted.

"It is disappointing that Eddie isn’t able to join me in standing up for the Black Country and the West Midlands to help get our fair share."

Mr Jamieson says WMP has lost more than £140m funding in real terms since 2010. He singled out Mr Hughes for criticism over the cuts, insisting he should be embarrassed by Mrs May’s claim, which she made during PMQs last month.

The Home Office said it aimed ‘to be as clear as possible’ in communicating figures to the public and has ‘repeatedly said that around £270m of the up to £450m increase in police funding next year results from increased council tax precept income’.

Mr Jamieson has raised council tax by around 10 per cent in the West Midlands to bring in £9.5m