Matt Taylor, the self-proclaimed Shadow Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (SSPCC) has had his popular blog removed from the Google Blogger platform following a complaint of harassment by Mark Streater, Bourne's number one.
Regularly promoted on the "Andy Peacher's Show" on the Freedom Talk Radio platform by ex-Crime Stopper Brian Setchfield and Peaceful Warrior John Paterson; Taylor has been a thorn in the side of Sussex Chief Constable Giles York and Commissioner Bourne since 2012, calling into question the Commissioner's credibility in holding Sussex Police to account.
Shadow Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (SSPCC)
An ex-Royal Military Policeman, Taylor is responsible for initiating the on-going Independent Police Complaint's Commission (IPCC) investigation into electoral fraud by Bourne, during the run up to the second PCC elections in 2016.
The SSPCC blog was originally removed in July 2016 following claims made by Taylor that Bourne is a liar. In light of the IPCC investigation Taylor successfully appealed the ban, and the blog was reinstated in September 2016. Buoyed by his victory, he published a further three articles calling into question the involvement of the police in the 2015 Shoreham air-show crash and the 2016 Camber Sands tragedy, in which 17 people collectively lost their lives.
Freedom of Speech and Expression
Claiming Streater has denied him his Human Rights of expression and speech, Taylor believes his blog was removed because he was exposing elements of truth which Streater wants kept hidden from the public.
He said, "I have never harassed anyone. I've simply blogged my opinion based on research which anyone can do.
Katy Bourne took an oath which welcomed public scrutiny and that's what I’m doing. I'm providing an extra layer of public scrutiny which they would rather do without. By banning my blog they've demonstrated they can't be trusted. I've lost all trust in the police and call into question their ability to serve and protect the people of Sussex, and the Commissioner's ability to hold the police to account."
Friends in High Places
Under fire for cutting PCSO numbers, while promising to increase them during the run-up to the election, Emma Daniel, Brighton and Hove Elm Grove Councillor and member of the Police and Crime Panel, said, "I don't think people would have voted for the Commissioner if they'd known what she was going to do."
Tipped as a rising star in the Conservative party and a close friend to PM Theresa May, Bourne is facing the prospect of prison having been the first elected PCC to be investigated by the IPCC for a criminal offence.
Both Bourne and York have yet to publicly comment on the IPCC investigation, while Taylor has appealed to the Google Blogger Team to reinstate his blog for a second time.
