A PUBLIC relations expert has been selected by the Conservatives to fight next year’s election for the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Philip Allott, managing director of Allott and Associates, a former member of the territorial army who has previously stood as a parliamentary candidate, was selected by North Yorkshire Conservative members on Friday.

He will campaign to replace Julia Mulligan, who has been North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner since 2012. Mrs Mulligan announced in March she would not be standing for re-election. Her party colleagues had earlier in the year said she would not be automatically re-adopted as the Conservative candidate for another term.

Mr Allott’s campaign will focus on increasing the visibility of the police, clamping down on anti-social behaviour and making the police and fire services more efficient to invest savings in frontline services.

He said he was ‘thrilled’ to be selected as the Conservative candidate. “Right across North Yorkshire, people want to feel safe on streets and in their homes and, if elected, I will work with the chief constable and her officers to make sure this is the case," he said.

“The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Conservative Government have shown their commitment to the police with the plans to recruit 20,000 extra officers.

“I will ensure North Yorkshire gets its rightful share of new officers and gets the investment needed for existing officers to continue their work to keep people across the county safe.”