Cheshire's police and crime commissioner apologised in a meeting today for an 'inappropriate and unacceptable' comment he made recently about schoolgirls wearing 'very short skirts' and said he is not a misogynist.

John Dwyer made the comment during a meeting of Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council in November, in a discussion about abuse and violence faced by women and young girls.

He is said to have been heard saying "I notice schoolgirls in my area are all wearing very short skirts and this did not happen in the 1960s."

This resulted in a complaint being made to Cheshire Police and Crime Panel and has prompted calls from some people for his resignation.

The complaint was recently upheld by the panel.

At today's (Friday) meeting of the police and crime panel, before the start of normal business, Mr Dwyer apologised again for his comment.

He told the meeting: "I have issued a total apology for making that comment.

"It was inappropriate, I made a mistake, and I understand that your complaints panel, and indeed the complainant themselves, have accepted the apology.

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"I want to make absolutely clear to all of you that I am not a misogynist and I hope you, and the greater public, can see me in the light of what I've done in terms of excellent work actually focusing our efforts on protecting women and girls in this county."

Yasmin Somani, co-opted panel member, told Mr Dwyer: "At all our formal and informal meetings I've seen you be nothing but very serious about violence against women and young girls and I appreciate that."

She added: "Sometimes things happen in isolation, that is not a reflection on a person's position more broadly."

Cllr Sam Naylor (CWAC) called on the commissioner to 'consider his position'.

Cllr Naylor said there was no doubt Mr Dwyer had added value to the role of police and crime commissioner.

He said he accepted what he had just said 'but in view of the fact that the police and crime commissioner is a check and balance on what Cheshire Police is doing, I think the police and crime commissioner should be above any complaint'.

He added: "All I'd say is that I think he should at least consider his position."

Cllr Judy Snowball (CEC, Lab) said: "I welcome the commissioner's comments and apology and I welcome Cllr Naylor's comments as well."

She asked whether this would be an opportunity to review the organisations the commissioner had set up to address the challenges of violence against women and girls.

"I would personally welcome that opportunity to look at how they function, how they're run, the success of them, their objectives and whether these are achieved and just overall examine these organisations and get a much clearer more in-depth picture of the commissioner's work in these organisations in the general focus against violence against women and girls," said Cllr Snowball.

Mr Dwyer replied: "I think it is appropriate for the panel to be aware of just the extent of the work that's going on in this county driven by myself to protect women and girls."