Deputy PCC resigns over Shaun Wright’s failure to step down

Tracey Cheetham, deputy to South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright has stepped down.

This comes after calls – including from the Labour Party – for her senior, Wright, to step down following his failure to act on the mounting evidence of child abuse when he was responsible for child services on Rotherham Council. Late last night, Wright announced that he would be resigning from the Labour Party but that he would remain in his post.

In her statement Cheetham said that she thinks it would also be the “right thing” for Wright to step down. She explained:

“It is vital for people to have confidence in the office of Police and Crime Commissioner and with this in mind, I believe it would have been the right thing for Shaun Wright to resign.

“This has become even more apparent given the overwhelming opinion of the public – as they are the people to whom the Commissioner is ultimately accountable.

“I am incredibly sad that this issue has become centred on one person and we seem to have lost focus on the most important factor in all this; the 1400 victims who were failed.”