PCC denies receiving cash from campaigner
Fury as MP uses parliamentary privilege to accuse a police and crime commissioner of accepting funding from the Countryside Alliance.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire has been forced to deny accepting money from the Countryside Alliance over the controversial issue of trail-hunting.
Matt Western, Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, made the claims about Conservative PCC Philip Seccombe in the House of Commons under parliamentary privilege — legal immunity enjoyed by MPs. It gives them protection against civil or criminal liability for actions or statements made in the course of their legislative duties.
Mr Western also described a review by the commissioner’s office into Warwickshire Police’s handling of the Warwickshire Hunt as a “sham”.
Mr Seccombe said he was “very concerned” by the MP’s remarks in the House of Commons. “Parliamentary privilege is a privilege and I think all members of Parliament should say the truth,” Mr Seccombe said. “There was an allegation [Matt Western] made that I received funding from the Countryside Alliance — absolutely not true — and I’m also concerned about his opinion of our independent review going on into hunting in Warwickshire.”
The commissioner himself ordered the review, but Mr Western claimed it was not independent and described it as a sham.
Mr Seccombe said: “It’s part of my role to hold Warwickshire Police to account, so we have appointed an independent reviewer who has experience of policing governance to look into it and there are no limits to who he can talk to.”
Mr Western has refused to back down from his earlier comments.
“I’m going to leave it to the public inquiry that I have called for to find out what is going on,” Mr Western said. “This is about trust and confidence in Warwickshire Police and in the Police and Crime Commissioner.”
A spokesman for the Countryside Alliance told Shooting Times: “Matt Western’s claims are baseless and false. We regard his decision to make such a false claim under parliamentary privilege to be an abuse of that privilege. We have formerly asked Mr Western to withdraw his comments and correct the record by means of a point of order.
“Failing that, we have invited Mr Western to repeat his assertion outside the House of Commons so that we can commence necessary legal action,” they added.
