Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce has uninvited North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott from its November meeting. Mr Allott has come under fire for comments made about the murder of Sarah Everard, in which he claimed women should be "streetwise" and that Sarah should "never have submitted to arrest." And in response, Harrogate Chamber withdrew its invitation for Mr Allott to speak at its November meeting earlier this week. David Simister, Chief Executive of Harrogate Chamber, said:
"We had initially invited North Yorkshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to speak at this meeting, but this offer was withdrawn on Monday morning. "Instead, we have invited the team behind delivering the £10.9m Harrogate Station Gateway Project to present the next stage of the consultation process, which includes revised plans and detailed drawings. "Due to the importance of this subject, we will be making this an open meeting to all town centre businesses, as we want them to fully appreciate the implications the scheme will have on them and their customers."Mr Allott has apologised for his comments made on BBC Radio York on Friday 1st October. He said:
"I would like to reiterate my heartfelt apology for my comments on BBC Radio York on Friday 1 October, which I realise were both misconceived and insensitive and have caused upset and distress. I have withdrawn the remarks. "Clearly, I have much to learn, so as well as committing to working ever more closely with subject-matter expert colleagues in my own organisation and beyond, I will be seeking meetings as soon as possible with local partner organisations across North Yorkshire and the City of York that provide services to tackle male violence against women and girls, in order to deliver on their concerns and broaden my understanding of the issues."A petition calling for Mr Allott to resign has reached more than 8,300 signatures. Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.
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