Weston pulls out of police election
Falklands veteran Simon Weston has pulled out of the race to become one of the UK's first high-powered civilian police bosses.
Mr Weston said he was withdrawing from the elections for the £100,000-a-year job of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for South Wales because he was becoming disillusioned and the campaign was "too political".
Writing on Twitter, he said: "With regret pulling out of the PCC role for South Wales. Became disillusioned by the fact it was getting 2 political & not serving the people." His decision to pull out of the elections was confirmed by his spokesman.
The commissioners, who will be elected in November, will have the power to set police budgets, decide policing priorities and hire and fire chief constables.
Mr Weston, 50, a father of three and a former Welsh Guardsman, was badly burned when the Sir Galahad was destroyed in 1982 during the Falklands conflict.
He suffered 46% burns on his body and underwent 70 separate major operations or surgical procedures during a slow recovery. He overcame his injuries and went on to forge a new career as a charity worker, writer of children's books and after-dinner speaker.
When he announced his decision to stand in February, he urged others to follow his example to stop ageing politicians taking the roles.
The move comes as the Government announced it was going ahead with plans to transfer funding to support victims and witnesses from the Victim Support charity to PCCs.
Most of the £50 million raised from offenders will be available to the new commissioners, the Home Office said.
Policing minister Nick Herbert said: "The arrival of police and crime commissioners will be the most significant democratic reform of policing in our lifetime. How victims are treated is essential to maintaining public trust in policing and the criminal justice system. That is why the Government has decided that funding for a range of services will be devolved to democratically elected and accountable police and crime commissioners. The needs of victims vary locally and PCCs, much more than central Government, will be best placed to decide what their communities want."
