The judgement of Herts police and crime commissioner David Lloyd has been called into question after the furore surrounding deputy Rachel Frosh’s resignation on Wednesday last week,
Dr Frosh left her post following a storm of criticism which erupted after she retweeted a quote by Adolf Hitler.
She was on a salary of £20,000 for the two-day a week role and later deleted the post on the social networking site, which linked Nazism with socialism and included an image of Hitler. She said she “did not remember” retweeting the message.
She also said: “I recognise that I am not able to fully comment on some political issues whilst deputy police and crime commissioner. It is, therefore, with great regret that I have tendered my resignation.”
Commissioner Lloyd, who only appointed his number two in December, said it was not something he would have done.
He later said: “I was sad to have to accept Rachel’s resignation. She has taken the honourable course of action by making this decision and I will miss her valuable contribution to my work to further improve policing and crime reductions for the public of Hertfordshire.”
But Liberal Democrat councillor for Hemel Hempstead St Pauls Ron Tindall said: “This demonstrates why it was wrong to fast-track the deputy’s appointment and not put it out to wider selection, rather than hand the job to your party colleague.”
Labour constituency chair Dominic Hook said: “Nobody elected Dr Frosh to this post and I’m sure the overwhelming majority of voters had no idea she even existed or was paid £20,000 from the public purse.
“This is just another example of incompetence amongst the Conservatives and shows they are failing the people of Hemel and Hertfordshire who they are supposed to protect.”
Dr Frosh has since reopened her Twitter account and said she has been “overwhelmed” with the messages of support she has received.