Police commissioner may cancel tour after backlash

Colin Sutton is wearing black-rimmed glasses and a navy suit, white shirt and purple patterned tie. He is holding a microphone close to his mouth and looks to be in a corporate environment.

Image source, PA MediaImage caption,

Colin Sutton said he was "absolutely" reconsidering his UK-wide tour after the backlash

ByLewis Adams

Published1 hour ago

Norfolk's police commissioner is considering scrapping his 127-date theatre show after a backlash from local people, he has told the BBC.

Since announcing his UK-wide true crime tour, Colin Sutton said constituents had emailed him with concerns about his ability to perform his day job.

He was elected to the £79,000-a-year post on a Reform UK ticket in July and announced the gig two months later.

Steffan Aquarone, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, accused Sutton of acting more like pop star Taylor Swift than a politician.

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are elected officials who set the priorities of a police force, appoint a chief constable and hold them to account.

Sutton, who led the investigation to catch serial killer Levi Bellfield, has priced tickets for his "Makings of a Murderer" show at about £40.

Sutton wearing glasses, a dark suit jacket, pale pink shirt and a spotted tie in front of a colourful event backdrop. He has a light blue rosette pinned to his jacket.

Image source, Qays Najm/BBCImage caption,

Sutton was elected as Norfolk's police and crime commissioner in July

Asked if he was now reconsidering the theatre run, Sutton said: "Absolutely. I'm in talks with the people who promote it to see how we can curtail it or, if necessary, just cut it completely.

"I don't want anything to interfere with the job that I've got to do."

One of the solutions he proposed was stripping the tour back to venues only local to Norfolk.

Sutton is due to appear at a Norfolk police and crime panel on 2 February, before being on stage in Leeds that evening.

"There are lots of people who do meetings like that by [Microsoft] Teams or across the internet now, which might be an option," the ex-detective said.

"But it may well be that it's a moot point now, because I've listened and I think I should make sure the people of Norfolk still have the confidence that I would do the job properly."

Sutton admitted the reaction from constituents on social media and via emails sent to his office had caught him off-guard.

"That's made me think about it again," he conceded.

However, the PCC said the theatre tour was not something he needed to mention to voters during the election campaign and he denied letting them down.

Steffan Aquarone has long, light brown hair. He is standing in front of the St Peter Mancroft church in Norwich and wearing a dark suit.

Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBCImage caption,

Steffan Aquarone accused Sutton of taking voters for granted

The role of PCCs in England and Wales is due to be scrapped by the government by the end of Parliament, with their powers to be transferred to newly directly elected mayors.

Aquarone said Sutton had taken the voters of Norfolk for granted by not telling them about the tour.

"Either the job is serious and requires somebody full time paying attention, or it's not and it's OK to go off and do nearly as many tour dates as Taylor Swift," he said.

A spokesperson for Reform said the party was supportive of "celebrity detective" Sutton and pointed out half of his shows would take place at weekends.

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