Statement from former Chief David Crompton after High Court win

I welcome today's decision by the court to overturn the Police and Crime Commissioner's decisions, first to suspend me, and then to require me to resign.

The court's judgement concludes Dr Billings acted unlawfully from start to finish, branding his course of decision-making 'irrational', 'perverse', 'unreasonable', 'misconceived' and 'wholly disproportionate'.

The public and a police force are entitled to expect their Police and Crime Commissioner to act fairly and rationally.

The history related by the court demonstrates a complete absence of both.

Similarly, the court found the Police and Crime Panels's reasoning in support of Dr Billings to be 'thin and unconvincing'.

Dr Billings has spent a huge amount of public money trying to defend actions which he was advised in the strongest terms not to pursue by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

It is highly significant that today's judgment repeats almost all of the arguments made originally by Sir Thomas (Winsor) nearly a year ago in his advice under the statutory process to the Police and Crime Commissioner. This money would have been better spent on operational policing.