Vow to fight police commissioner running Shropshire's fire service

Councillor Eric Carter said he was "extremely annoyed" by the decision by the Home Office to back John Campion's plans.

He said that he and his colleagues would be considering a judicial review into the decision.

Now that he has been given Government backing on his plans, Mr Campion could take over the running of Shropshire Fire and Rescue within the next few months.

But Councillor Carter said he will fight the decision.

"Is this about saving money or saving lives?" Councillor Carter said. "That is important to me.

"This decision is not something I'm surprised about, but I'm extremely annoyed about it.

"We will not just be sitting around and accepting it. We will not just be saying get on with it."

Councillor Carter said he would be working with colleagues in Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire – where similar plans are going ahead – to come up with a solution.

"I gave a presentation a couple of weeks ago at the fire conference in Gateshead, and I did explain at the time there were three authorities that were being taken forward," he said.

"We submitted our opposition to the business case put forward and people across the political spectrum said that if this went ahead, we'd be getting together to take the next steps.

"We'll be talking with colleagues in Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire to say what they want to do.

"Staffordshire has already said judicial review. This is something we have said before, but we will discuss it now both with the Local Government Association and the other fire authorities involved. We will be making decisions quite soon."

Councillor Carter said he there was no local accountability in the plans.

"There's no local representation," he said. "It will all be down to one person in an office in Worcester.

"He has no mandate to do this. When he stood for election he stood as police and crime commissioner, nothing to do with fire. Up until he stands again and is voted in, he has no mandate."

Who supports the move?

Others have come out in support of the decision.

Anthony Bangham, chief constable for West Mercia Police, said: "We already work very closely with our emergency service colleagues in fire and rescue and this news further enhances our opportunity to develop this working relationship.

"This announcement enables us to provide an even more efficient and effective response to better protect communities across West Mercia. I welcome our new joint-working arrangements."

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said: “It is great to see police and crime commissioners identifying opportunities to drive greater collaboration between police and fire – there is a real opportunity to improve the services provided to local people.

"The proposals will encourage joint working, sharing of best practice and innovative thinking.

“Having a directly accountable leader overseeing both policing and fire will also help maximise available resources and drive transformation across both services. I look forward to seeing the benefits this will bring to the local areas.”