SPARE a thought for #PCC Adam Simmonds this week as he settles into the new surroundings of Wootton Hall West Wing.
There’s still plenty of work to be done sprucing the place up – although it’s unlikely those missing police artefacts will be featuring anywhere – but Adam still has a way to go to match the palatial surroundings of Chief Constable Adrian Lee’s enormous office described by one Wootton Hall insider as “bigger than your average maisonette”. Not only that, Chief Ade enjoys a first floor vista over the trimmed lawns beneath compared with the ground floor end of terrace office of his new #PCC pal.
Actually though, we’re more sympathetic to the time Adam has had to spend this week engaging with some of the Chron’s online commentatariat, a narrow clique of (largely) pseudonyms who decry every utterance the #PCC makes and plenty he doesn’t either. In ‘The World According to (insert pseudonym of your choice here)’ comments tend to pile up very quickly, but fair play to #PCC Adam who, by Wednesday morning had knocked out 1,761 words of replies to his detractors which is a superhuman effort by any standard. Chief among them was a pretty trenchant critique of Bona Fide Citizen Dickie. “You are a former council leader of a dramatically different era to today. I won’t pass judgement on your record, legacy or indeed achievements, others have done that”.
Ever the diplomat, the #PCC signed off, without irony, to thank everyone for the “witty, positive, innovative and forward thinking commentary” provided by his (largely) faceless detractors. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em...
MIKEY Ellis was on his best behaviour for Prince Charles, but he got a kicking from the Speaker at yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions. In case you missed Aufona’s tweet yesterday – bit.ly/Xi863D – John Bercow gave him a proper going over asking him why as a “distinguished, practising barrister” he was capable of such unruly Parliamentary behaviour. His final put down: “Calm yourself and be quiet. Learn it man” had a dash of the late Michael Winner in it.
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