Embattled police and crime commissioner cancels 'ridiculous' 127-date speaking tour, after finally admitting it couldn't be done in his 'spare time'

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’.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.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.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.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.‘I’m not sure I could do 127 dates, because that’s ridiculous, but I could have done 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.’ Norfolk PCC Colin Sutton claimed a 127-date speaking tour could be carried out in his 'spare 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’.‘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.‘I’m not trying to say this is all somebody else’s fault. It’s not because I should have been more honest with myself about how much PCC work was taking up my 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.But the one-man tour, called ‘The Makings of a Murderer – Double Jeopardy’, triggered widespread incredulity as soon as details emerged on 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.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 weekdaysMatthew 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.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.‘I meet at that intersection. I'm not surprised I'm the target of theirs. I accept that if you’re in public life you’re going to be a target some way or another.‘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.’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’.He previously insisted that the shows had been signed off by the PCC 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 GrantIn 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…‘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.’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.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.‘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.’