Tory police and crime commissioner is told to apologise and act more ... trends now
A police and crime commissioner has been ordered to apologise to an individual over 'disrespectful' and inaccurate comments he made on social media.
Festus Akinbusoye, the Conservative PCC for Bedfordshire, was reprimanded after suggesting the unnamed man had misused public funds.
The county's police and crime panel complaints sub-committee also said he had to act more professionally on social media and stick to accurate data in posts.
Mr Akinbusoye, who has held the post since 2021, was found to have made a 'strong implication' online that the complainant himself, or through his association with Luton Neighbourhood Watch, had improperly used public funds.
Statements including 'in particular a reference to Psalm 59 of the Bible' – which includes the line 'Deliver me from my enemies, O God' - implied the man was 'an enemy', the committee added.
Festus Akinbusoye, (centre) the Conservative PCC for Bedfordshire, was reprimanded after suggesting the unnamed man had misused public funds
Mr Akinbusoye, who has held the post since 2021, was found to have made a 'strong implication' online that the complainant himself, or through his association with Luton Neighbourhood Watch, had improperly used public funds
There was also admonishment for online comments that were 'disrespectful' to elected councillors, who were referred to as 'so-called independents'. Pictured on October 2023
There was also admonishment for online comments that were 'disrespectful' to elected councillors, who were referred to as 'so-called independents'.
A further finding against Mr Akinbusoye was the suggestion that the county has 'one of the lowest number of police officers per head of population in the country', which was not backed by data held by the Office for National Statistics.
The sub-committee met in private in March but the minutes and outcome were leaked to the BBC.
Its report concluded Mr Akinbusoye – who came second to Labour in the Mid-Bedfordshire be-election last year that followed the resignation of Nadine Dorries – had 'failed to achieve the level of professional behaviour expected of those in
