Councillors boycott meeting to appoint new Northamptonshire fire chief as 'friendship' row grows

• Rebecca Haworth reports from a heated meeting

A county fire meeting descended into chaos with two panel members walking out after the fire commissioner's decision to appoint a female friend with no experience to a senior role.

Northamptonshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold appointed Nicci Marzec to lead the county's fire service but she resigned 10 days later when it came to light that she was a close friend of his and had never worked for the fire service.

Pressure has since been mounting on Mr Mold to resign, with protests held outside the meeting to install Ms Marzec's successor as £140,000-a-year interim fire chief on Thursday morning.

Inside the meeting, tensions ran high, as councillors argued they should have been offered a vote of no confidence in Mr Mold, beacuse he failed to consult them before his appointment.

Independent panel member Anita Shields called what had happened 'despicable' before adding that she would boycott the meeting and walking out to applause from firefighters.

She said: "If we are not given a vote for a motion of no confidence over the commissioner's conduct then we should boycott this meeting because it's despicable that you can brush this under the table, and just act business as usual. "The panel has got the right to demand a meeting to question the commissioner before the confirmation hearing."

Labour councillor Zoe McGhee then addressed the meeting and agreed with her colleague, adding: "We are being silenced and restricted and now we're told that the meeting is going to be held in private.

"I will break with this meeting and I will rejoin at such a time when we can have a fair, honest and open discussion about the event."

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has already called for Mr Mold to resign.

At Northamptons's Guildhall, Adam Taylor from the FBU said: "It would be more appropriate, and more sensible if the panel were to consider the questions of tenableness and competency and whether or not Stephen Mold was in breach of legislation.

"Surely, that has to take place before confirming a new chief fire officer - a significant position.

"The entire process has been handled in a shambolic manner and it's an embarrassment on the office of police, fire and crime commissioner.

"Our members are rightly angry, rightly concerned about the decisions that have been taken by Stephen Mold and the whole process is a sham. The meeting today was a sham."

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Mold said: "There was a lot of passion in the room. And quite frankly, I look forward to explaining to the panel my timeline of events and my rationale. They can't bring that meeting forward soon enough for me."

When asked if he regretted his decision, he replied: "I regret the uncertainty this has created, obviously I do.

"I have already explained that with the benefit of hindsight, the mistake I made was not bringing it forward to the panel at the earliest convenience."

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