Police commissioner faces call to quit over Cornwall bodies claim
'Deeply unhelpful'
Hernandez was answering questions at a live-streamed meeting of the panel on Friday, when she said: "We have got a huge forensics tent down there and lots of forensics officers, obviously we've found dead bodies in that wood."We're just trying to establish how many there may be at this point in time and whether we are aware of who they are or what might have happened to them."So we also don't know how long they may have been there, some of them."Senior officers later confirmed only the remains of a single individual, believed to be Daniel Coleman, had been recovered, James Desborough, 39, is accused of murdering Mr Coleman, from St Austell, between 2 June and 7 July. He is due back before Truro Crown Court next month.Det Supt Jon Bancroft said in a statement released by the force the case was not linked to other murder investigations in the area.Haydon, who also serves as Plymouth City Council's cabinet member for community safety, said: "It's extremely disappointing that the commissioner shared such seriously flawed information at the panel."It created a period of real worry and is deeply unhelpful when we need to restore confidence in our police force," the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.Police and crime commissioners are elected officials whose role is to help ensure police forces function effectively.
'Considering her position'
Haydon added the remarks came shortly after Hernandez had been corrected by her monitoring officer on a separate issue during the same meeting.The commissioner also declined to disclose details of a financial settlement with outgoing suspended Chief Constable Will Kerr, saying the information would be published in next year's accounts. Last year, she appointed a deputy commissioner against the panel's advice and he resigned after five months."All of this, coupled with apparent chaos at senior levels of the force, raises serious concerns," Haydon said. "I believe she should be considering her position."A spokesperson for Hernandez said: "The police and crime commissioner has clarified her position following her comments during a Police and Crime Panel meeting last Friday, July 25, which was a busy meeting covering a wide range of policing topics. "There will be no further comment at this time."Hernandez made headlines in 2017 when she suggested on BBC Radio Cornwall armed members of the public could be a "solution" if there was a terrorist attack."I'm just saying... let's officially have a look at that and see what would be the implications of it," she said.
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'They still have people going and pointing, and saying 'That's where it happened.' Processing and grief have been hindered a lot by the media, and social media.' Describing how the town has handled its grief in the wake of the attack, she adds: 'We were all led by the amazing families of the children. We are led by them, and they are passionate about making sure the girls have a legacy and are not defined by what happened to them.' Each of the girls' families has set up a charity or a CIC in the wake of the tragedy – Bebe's Hive, Elsie's Story, and Alice's WonderDance Foundation. Much of Southport has been involved in fundraising for the organisations, from running marathons to organising community days. Southport Hesketh Round Table is continuing to raise funds for all 26 families directly affected by the tragedy. 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Its chair, Steve Bennet, says the response to the club's fundraising event was 'overwhelming', with local businesses literally 'pulling things off the shelf' to donate when asked. 'The attack hit the club quite badly. One of our members was the grandparent of Bebe King, and others knew children who were at the event,' he says. 'The impact of the event was something that hit everyone very hard. I couldn't really talk about it out loud for six months. You know the saying, 'You're all six connections away from everyone else'? It's very true in Southport, so everyone has been able to empathise with the position of the families.' The club decided to organise a community day fundraiser, which saw more than 15,000 raffle tickets sold and auctions set up. Steve adds: 'One of our members knocked on every door and business in the area to ask for raffle donations or if they could help in anyway. It was quite overwhelming to have that kind of response. 'The generosity of the businesses, not just giving prizes but providing toilets, fences, tables, their time and everything else free of charge, was incredible.' Although nothing formal will happen at the club to mark the anniversary of the attack on Tuesday, Steve says the bunting remains up as a 'constant reminder'. 'It's going to be low-key, but people are carrying it with them all the time,' he says. 'From a club perspective, it's brought us into a more tightly knit group through the shared experience of grief for our friend, and for those affected.'
