Police and Crime Commissioner candidate criticised for 'misleading' petition photograph
A candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) role has been branded dishonest over a "misleading" photograph of him with binders of petition signatures.
Conservative Jay Singh-Sohal posed next to five of the boxes – and a trolley to carry them on – outside West Midlands Police's force HQ at Lloyd House.
They were handed into the PCC's office on Thursday in an envelope, rather than in the boxes as had been shown.
Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, whose office received the petition at the force's HQ, hit out at candidate and called the image "misleading".
But Mr Singh-Sohal said the police chief was trying to deflect attention away from the petition and instead direct attention onto "trivial matters of stationary".
Mr Jamieson said: "It would appear that his boxes are as empty as his promises. The role of Police and Crime Commissioner requires a high degree of integrity and honesty with the public.
"This misleading photo opportunity appears to fall a long way short of that. He is promising to waste taxpayers’ money by proposing to keep open empty buildings, which would lead to cutting a further 100 police officers."
The police stations had been earmarked for closure under the West Midlands Police's controversial estates scheme – but the plans have since been delayed due to Covid-19.
Mr Singh-Sohal said: "More than 5,000 people signed the petition to stop Labour's police station closure because they believe these bases are a community asset and not a waste.
"They'll no doubt be disappointed that the Labour PCC is seeking to dismiss their views and concerns about the degrading of community police presence by deflecting onto trivial matters of stationary."
The estates programme brought in by Mr Jamieson and Chief Constable Dave Thompson to save officer jobs in the wake of budget cuts – with the crime commissioner insisting police buildings have to be downsized because of Government cuts.