Another PCC is in trouble But ignores it.

With one police and crime commissioner (PCC) (Winston Roddick)  under Investigation for allegedly  misleading  the electorate as he was living outside of his respective force area on the day he was elected to the post in November another Ian Johnson, the PCC for Gwent  says he did not  get a fair hearing when he appeared before a committee of MPs.

Gwent PCC Ian Johnston has been accused of bullying Carmel Napier, Gwent's chief Constable  into retiring in June.

He claimed he was made to look like a villain by the Home Affairs Select Committee, which questioned both of them over what had happened.

The committee said he had a "disdainful attitude" to parliamentary scrutiny".
But Mr Johnston told BBC Wales he believed the MPs had already decided what they were going to write before he appeared in front of them in July.


He said:

 "I don't think they listened at all to the evidence, I think the way the questioning went they had made their mind up about lots of things.
"If you look at the way that it was done, I was the villain of the piece before I even went in there and Carmel Napier was this poor unfortunate woman who had been bullied by this new police and crime commissioner.
"That was the way they presented it."

 In its report Mr Johnston was slated by the committee for what they called "this disdainful attitude towards scrutiny by Parliament, as well as an indication of a clear over-sensitivity to criticism".

They pointed out that Mr Johnston had been elected by less than 8% of voters in Gwent and "had managed to side-step the statutory arrangements for local scrutiny of his decision to sack the chief constable".

However, Mr Johnston said he believes the commissioners are "not accountable to members of Parliament".

If the PC are not accountable to members of Parliament then who are they accountable to?

Well probably the the Justice Minister or Home Secretary but it is essential that Parliment can scrutinise the PCCs especially as the in the case of  Mr Johnstone appears to have abused his powers and it is still unclear what they extend to.

He seems to have gone to the Willie John Mcbride school of "get your retaliation in first" 

A man accused of bulling now claims he is being bullied .

Despite only 8% of the people of Gwent voting for him including one Polling Station having Zero number of people turn up, he thinks he has a mandate to do as he likes . 

I always though the whole PCC exercise was farcical . I didn't know it was a going to be threat to democratic scrutiny well.