POLICE and crime commissioner Bill Longmore was embroiled in a farcical stand-off yesterday- after REFUSING to answer questions in a heated Q&A.

The £75,000-a-year elected figurehead of West Mercia Police appeared before a meeting of Worcestershire County Council for the first time in 18 months to be grilled by politicians.

Amid the bizarre scenes:

- Mr Longmore turned up late for the meeting, meaning his appearance had to be delayed by around an hour

- He attempted to sit on his hands and instead ask his unelected deputy Barrie Sheldon to answer questions for him, leading to furious exchanges in the chamber

- Mr Longmore then got into a dispute with Labour councillors, where he accused them of "sniping at him" and suggested they were trying to smear the police as "racist"

- The chairman of the council, Councillor Pam Davey, apologised to him for "discourtesy" and said the rows in the chamber were "showing a bad example to children"

Mr Longmore appeared at County Hall for a yearly report on the force.

Councillor Richard Udall, from Labour, kicked it off by saying: "It's been about 18 months since you were last here, at the time you said there are 'no racist police officers' and that racism in the police 'didn't exist'.

"You also said, and I quote 'domestic abuse didn't exist in the 1970s'."

He called the comments "insensitive and inaccurate" and asked him for his views on them.

He was also asked a list of questions on budget cuts, the paperwork faced by police officers and the impact turning off street lights could have on crime, before his deputy stood up to try and answer them instead.

Labour Councillor Luke Mallett said: "Nobody in Worcestershire elected Mr Sheldon to any role - he is an unelected aide.

"We all know Mr Sheldon will be putting himself up for election in two years, but it is up to Mr Longmore to answer these questions."

During the rowing Cllr Davey, the chairman, intervened and said Mr Longmore has "been invited as a guest" and could stay quiet if he wanted to.

Councillor Peter McDonald, Labour group leader, said: "We cannot stand this farce, he didn't say when he was elected that he'd refuse to answer questions.

"We want to hear from the organ grinder, not his monkey."

Mr Sheldon then stood down and Mr Longmore got on his feet to say he had gone to County Hall to "listen, and not be sniped at in every way".

He said Cllr Udall's views on his comments were "completely misconstrued", insisting he meant domestic violence was not reported as widely in the 1970s.

"In my early days in policing, yes of course there was domestic violence, but there was a culture where it tended to be part of everyday life - thankly we're in a different era now where people will not accept this and so it gets reported to the police."

He added: "And to think you've tried to insinuate that West Mercia Police is institutionally racist is just wrong."

Mr Longmore also revealed he would not stand for re-election in 2016.

He also told them he was prepared to protect front line policing at all costs.

"I am trying to make the service as efficient as possible because the public would not forgive me if I did not get value for money," he said.

"I do commit myself to front line policing. In terms of holding the chief comstable to account it's an ongoing thing."

He also said he did "not want to be the police commissioner who closes police stations".

During some clashes across the chamber Councillor Liz Tucker, Lib Dem group leader, told Labour councillors it was "possible to ask tough questions without being discourteous".

Cllr Davey said: "Sometimes we don't set a very good example to young people when it comes to respect and consideration for others."