Last week I was interviewed on ITV News West Country. They had asked me to comment on something that I had said in the House of Commons earlier in the week.

I had asked the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to comment on the state of affairs at the top of Devon and Cornwall Police. In 2022 the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police was suspended following sexual allegations. Then in November last year the acting chief constable was suspended for alleged “professional standards breaches”.

A new acting chief constable has been recruited and I’m very much looking forward to meeting him this week. But then two weeks ago, amidst the chaos, the deputy Police and Crime Commissioner resigned out of the blue. This level of upheaval at the top of our Devon and Cornwall Police is unprecedented and deeply troubling.

I went on camera to ask our Police and Crime Commissioner – a role with great responsibility and a hefty salary – to effectively get a grip. It now appears that taxpayers are paying for three Police Chief Constables, two of whom have been suspended and the Police and Crime Commissioner herself has lost her Deputy. Whilst sharing my concerns, the Home Secretary reassured me that the new Labour government is bringing in a new Police Reform white paper to make sure there are measures in place to strengthen Police leadership and standards.

Meanwhile our own local force is short of staff, as recruitment seems to be taking too long and we don’t have the officers on the streets that we all know we should have. I have to say, in all my dealings with our local force, they have been outstanding and deserve far more respect than they get from some parts of our communities. We know that it’s a challenging job and they have to work within strict laws.

To a man and woman, every single one I have met so far has been a credit to the force. There was no better example of this local professionalism and dedication than response to last weeks tragedy in Illogan where a woman was killed and shortly afterwards her partner took his own life. I have asked our thanks to be passed on to the first responders who encountered the terrible scene. In my view our local neighbourhood police are being let down by their bosses on the other side of the Tamar.

A point I will be keen to stress to the new chief constable is that it is supposed to be Devon and Cornwall Police and yet I do not see enough priority going into Cornish hotpots. I am really looking forward to working with the new chief constable and am thankful to him for already making time to meet with me, as well as the new deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, whenever a new one is recruited, to ensure that Camborne, Redruth and Hayle is getting the security resources that we deserve.

Perran Moon

Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth