Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner Colin Sutton has cancelled a planned 127-date speaking tour after facing criticism for attempting to balance it with his £79,000-a-year taxpayer-funded role. Initially claiming he could manage both responsibilities in his "spare time," Sutton admitted the schedule was impractical five days into the controversy. The tour, scheduled across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands, included numerous weekday events conflicting with PCC duties. Political opponents accused Sutton of prioritizing personal gain over public service, leading him to reconsider his commitments and focus solely on his role as PCC.
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Colin Sutton, the embattled Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner, cancelled his planned 127-date speaking tour after facing criticism for attempting to combine it with his taxpayer-funded role. Critics argued that the tour, which was set to take place across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands, could not realistically be managed in Sutton's spare time since three-quarters of the dates were scheduled on weekdays. Shadow policing minister Matt Vickers called the tour a "cash-generating jaunt," while fellow Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew accused Sutton of prioritizing his side-hustle over his job responsibilities. The Labour Party welcomed the cancellation but criticized Sutton for needing public backlash to recognize that his primary duty as PCC should take precedence.
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An under-fire police and crime commissioner who planned to carry out a 127-date speaking date has cancelled it after admitting it was ‘ridiculous’.
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it → see → it
Norfolk PCC Colin Sutton held out for days after it emerged he was planning to combine his £79,000-a-year taxpayer funded post with the year-long true crime stage show.
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he → hold → show
He claimed it would be done in his ‘spare time’ – despite three-quarters of the shows across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the Channel Islands, taking place on weekdays.
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quarters → claim → weekdays
Reform politician Mr Sutton had also complained of being subjected to a ‘pile-on’ by the public and media, triggering accusations by political opponents that he was ‘playing the victim’.
However, five days after the furore began, he announced he was performing a U-turn and would focus on his day job.
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he → complain → job
Insisting he was still ‘surprised’ by the number of people who had complained, he said: ‘They don’t know about my work ethic, they don’t know about my capacity for work and they think it’s a problem.
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it → insist → work
‘I’m not sure I could do 127 dates, because that’s ridiculous, but I could have done some.
uncertain
I → ’m → some
‘But what I don’t want to do is give the impression to anybody that I don’t take this role seriously and I’m not going to do a good job on this.’
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I → want → this
Norfolk PCC Colin Sutton claimed a 127-date speaking tour could be carried out in his 'spare time'
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tour → claim → time
He asked voters in Norfolk to judge him ‘on what happens and what I do’, not ‘what I might have done or was seeking to do’.
uncertain
I → ask → what
‘As I got more into the role and realised what was involved in the role, I should have realised that actually I can’t do it [the tour],’ Mr Sutton added.
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Sutton → get → it
‘I’m not trying to say this is all somebody else’s fault.
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this → try → ?
It’s not because I should have been more honest with myself about how much PCC work was taking up my time.’
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work → ’ → time
The former Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector was due to give talks on his career, which included nailing serial killer Levi Bellfield and ‘Nightstalker’ rapist Delroy Grant.
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which → give → Bellfield
But the one-man tour, called ‘The Makings of a Murderer – Double Jeopardy’, triggered widespread incredulity as soon as details emerged on Friday.
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details → call → Friday
The scheduling included a date in Llandudno, Wales, on February 1 and a dash back to Norfolk the next day for a PCC panel meeting before performing again in Leeds that evening.
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scheduling → include → Leeds
Another panel meeting on April 29 was sandwiched between trips to Farsley in Yorkshire that evening and Stevenage in Hertfordshire the night before.
Shadow policing and crime minister Matt Vickers branded the tour a ‘cash-generating jaunt’ and fellow Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew, who represents Broadland and Fakenham in Norfolk, said Mr Sutton was ‘focusing on his side-hustle’ rather than his job.
Three-quarters of the shows across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland , as well as the Channel Islands, were due to take place on weekdays
Matthew Taylor, the Conservative candidate who came second in the PCC election in July, described it as ‘a sorry saga, one that erodes public confidence in those who are supposed to represent them’.
South Norfolk Labour MP Ben Goldsborough added it was ‘good’ that the plug had been pulled on the tour.
‘But the fact it took a huge public backlash to make him realise that being Norfolk's police and crime commissioner should come before his career as a touring personality tells its own story,' he said.
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he → sandwich → story
In a meeting of North Norfolk District Council’s scrutiny committee yesterday where he announced his climb-down, Mr Sutton said: ‘I will say that my belief is, as a Reform UK politician and as a PCC, I am in the crosshairs of certain media organisations who have a long history of antipathy towards Norfolk Constabulary and a recent history of antipathy for Reform UK.
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who → announce → UK
‘I meet at that intersection.
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I → meet → intersection
I accept that if you’re in public life you’re going to be a target some way or another.
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you → accept → life
‘And the "pile-on" on social media are people who should know better but again people are motivated by trying to make political points rather than having any interest in the Norfolk residents at heart.’
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people → know → heart
Speaking after the meeting, he said he hadn’t revealed his plans for the tour between January and November next year during the run up to the PCC ballot because ‘there’s always a chance you’re not going to get elected’.
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you → speak → ballot
He previously insisted that the shows had been signed off by the PCC office.
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shows → insist → office
The former Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector was due to give talks on his career, which included nailing serial killer Levi Bellfield and ‘Nightstalker’ rapist Delroy Grant
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Mr Sutton said: ‘Upon reflection on the feedback from Norfolk residents and the time requirements for the role of the PCC, I have decided not to go ahead with the proposed tour…
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I → give → tour
‘I will continue to apply all my energies to the important task of making Norfolk Constabulary an even better police force that is responsive to its neighbourhoods.’
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that → continue → neighbourhoods
Show promoter Entertainers said that the 2027 tour would still go ahead but with another ‘fascinating true crime professional at its heart’ instead of Mr Sutton.
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tour → say → Sutton
It added: ‘Through our recent discussions with Colin, it became clear that he had underestimated the overall demands of the forthcoming tour alongside his other professional commitments.
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he → add → commitments
‘What was also abundantly clear throughout those conversations was how seriously Colin takes his responsibilities to the people of Norfolk, and how deeply committed he is to serving them.’
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he → take → them
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