Anthony Hamer Rennie Stansfeld (English: /ˈstænsfld/) (born 14 October 1945) is a British Conservative Party politician who was the first Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (2012–21).

Anthony Stansfeld
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner
In office
22 November 2012 – 12 May 2021
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byMatthew Barber
Councillor for Kintbury Ward
West Berkshire Council
In office
2003–2008
Personal details
Born (1945-10-14) 14 October 1945 (age 79)
Political partyConservative
ProfessionDefence and Aviation Exports
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
UnitRoyal Green Jackets
Territorial Army
Battles / warsFalklands War

Career

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Stansfeld has had a career in both the military and in industry. He enlisted in the Army at 17 and joined the Royal Green Jackets where he saw active service in Borneo and Northern Ireland.[citation needed] He learnt to fly helicopters at Middle Wallop and commanded various Army Air Corps Squadrons, including the Army helicopters in the Falkland Islands in the latter half of 1982.[citation needed] He spent two years as Chief of Staff Intelligence in the Far East.[citation needed] While in the Army he spent 4 months carrying out the reconnaissance for the crossing of the Darién Gap in Panama and Colombia, and led the first stage of Operation Raleigh, taking young people through the jungles of Honduras and Belize.[citation needed]

On leaving the Army he was marketing director, and then, for 6 years, managing director of the aircraft company Pilatus Britten Norman.[citation needed] At the same time he commanded the Army reserve helicopters as a Territorial Army officer.[citation needed] He has an MSc and studied international terrorism and global security at university.[where?][citation needed]

Political career

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Stansfeld was elected to West Berkshire Council as a Councillor in 2003 representing Kintbury Ward, having previously served on Kintbury Parish Council.[1] He was a Trustee of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance for 8 years.[citation needed]

From 2008 to 2012 he was appointed to Thames Valley Police Authority (becoming Chairman of the Performance Committee in 2011). He was the first person to serve as the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, being elected on 15 November 2012.[2] In 2019, he was reported to have intervened in a case with which Thames Valley Police were not involved, on behalf of a fellow member of the International Tribunal for Natural Justice (ITNJ).[3][4][5] This was the subject of a misconduct hearing and he was found, by the police force's complaints panel, to have acted outside his remit and he did not seek re-election.[6][7][8] At a 2019 event organised by Sacha Stone (founder of the ITNJ), Stansfeld was a guest speaker. He said "The implications of microwave radiation has increased exponentially and will continue to do so, and it does seriously need some very open scientific study to prove that it is safe and I don’t think we’ve got that at the moment."[9]

References

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  1. ^ "West Berkshire Council - Election 2003 - Results for [Archive]". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ "PCC elections: Beds, Herts and the Thames Valley". BBC News. BBC. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  3. ^ Way, Fran (21 November 2019). "PCC threatens Mail over this story about 'abusing his office to help billionaire's ex-wife'". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. ^ Way, Fran (21 November 2019). "Elected head of Thames Valley Police admits warning man of police action in bid to help a billionaire's ex-wife". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Not Real News: A look at what didn't happen this week". AP NEWS. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. ^ Way, Fran (14 February 2020). "£86,700-a-year head of police faces misconduct complaint today". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. ^ Way, Fran (9 February 2021). "Police boss found to have acted outside his remit as elected head of force". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  8. ^ "PCC elections: The candidates standing in Thames Valley". BBC News. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ^ Wright, Tom (16 June 2020). "The 5G Con That Could Make You Sick" (PDF). BBC Radio 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2021.