The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Sympathy but resigning was the only option
Ihave sympathy for Andy Coles who has resigned from his role as deputy police and crime commissioner. Peterborough City Councillor Mr Coles, so the allega- tions say, was an undercover officer for the Metropolitan Police and infilitrated an animal rights group.
He allegedly befriended a 19-year-old woman who was a member of the group and deceived her into a sexual relationship.
Mr Coles said he is unable to comment on the allegations and in the circumstances of the ongoing legal action IPCC enquiry, resigning was the only option. If the allegations are well founded, then a line would have been crossed But even if they turn out to be true, I would find it hard to condemn him totally.
Sometimes police officers, servicemen and those in other security forces (okay I’ll say it, spooks) do dark things in the name of keeping us safe.
That doesn’t mean that standards of human decency, let alone the law, can be ignored, but areas become greyer and lines become blurred.
If the claims are true, I’m surprised that someone in his position would decide to lead such a public life. If he had remained ‘just’ a Peterborough city councillor his past might not have been an issue. After all, given the sorry record of a few Peterborough city councillors who have brought the city and the council into disrepute with their bad, and in some cases criminal, behaviour, Mr Coles would be far from the worst ‘offender’.
Mind you if he was caught cycling down Bridge Street or became homeless I’m sure that would be a different matter!
The big problem in Mr Coles’ situation is that he accepted a key role within the police establishment. That was surely a misjudgement.
As skeletons in cupboards go it would be a T-Rex sized one. We wait now to see the full fall-out from this episode. Jason Ablewhite, the police and crime commissioner, is saying nothing, and with an inquiry under way this is fair enough.
But he will have to comment and answer questions sooner or later and whether or not there is any basis to the allegations, the key one will be ‘did you know?’
The assumption must be that he didn’t and hopefully, for the sake of the unloved office of the police and crime commissioner, that will prove to be the case.