THAMES Valley police commissioner Anthony Stansfeld has offered to educate an MP who said his role should be scrapped.

Layla Moran, the MP for Oxford West, recently took fire at police and crime commissioners. She said the roles were costly and a 'failed experiment'.

Mr Stansfeld has now hit back by revealing that Ms Moran is the only MP in the Thames Valley yet to meet with him. The commissioner took the opportunity to invite Ms Moran to meet him so that she can 'better understand' his work.

The row began when Ms Moran used her column in the Herald to air her frustrations about PCCs.

She suggested the amount of cash involved in salaries and elections was unnecessary - particularly in the context of a cash-strapped force.

Ms Moran said: "I think police and crime commissioners are a failed experiment and should be axed.

"Elections are costly, with very low turnouts, and there are some questionable decisions on the use of public money.

"The Conservative police commissioner for our area, who earns £85,000 a year and already has chief and deputy chief executives paid £186,000 between them, has recently hired a deputy – former Vale of White Horse District Council leader Matthew Barber – on a £65k a year salary.

"Is this really necessary?"

Mr Stansfeld responded to the MP by inviting her to learn more about his role.

He said: "I regret that Layla Moran feels that way about the role of the PCC and it is shame that she is the only MP out of 21 in the Thames Valley that hasn’t yet met with me.

"I would welcome this opportunity to meet with her so she can better understand the many roles and responsibilities of the PCC.

“As well as scrutinising the work of the force and holding the chief constable to account I also have responsibility for an increasing amount of partnership work, provision of support for victims of crime and changes in the police complaints system."

PCCs are elected representatives who work to ensure police forces throughout the country are operating effectively. They replaced police authorities in 2012 with the intention of providing the public with a voice in policing.

The government says commissioners are not there to run forces - only to hold them to account and respond to the needs of the public.

Their many roles include appointing chief constables of forces and dismissing them, holding chief constables to account for the performance of a force's officers and staff and providing a link between police and the communities in which officers work.