Shaun Wright has finally resigned as South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner after weeks of pressure over the Rotherham child abuse scandal.
The police official had caused widespread anger by his refusal to step down after an inquiry found 1,400 children had been abused in the area over a 16-year period.
Before being elected South Yorkshire PCC in 2012, Mr Wright was Rotherham's councillor in charge of children's services from 2005 to 2010.
A report by investigator Professor Alexis Jay found hundreds of children had been subjected to trafficking, rape and other sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013 and their plight had been ignored by range of agencies, including police, councillors and council officials.
The Prime Minister had added to calls for Mr Wright to go, but, until today, he had stubbornly refused to quit his £85,000 a year job.
In a statement released by his office today, Mr Wright resigned, claiming the media attention in the wake of the report was 'detracting from the important issue' of bringing criminals to justice and supporting victims.
He said: 'I feel that it is now right to step down from the position of police and crime commissioner for South Yorkshire, for the sake of those victims, for the sake of the public of South Yorkshire and to ensure that the important issues outlined in the report about tackling child sexual exploitation can be discussed and considered in full and without distraction.'
Responding the announcement today, Home Secretary Theresa May said: 'I am pleased that Shaun Wright has heeded the calls from his local community for him to resign. It is right that where people failed in their duty they should take responsibility.
'The police and local council failed the victims of these awful crimes and failed the people of Rotherham. Police and Crime Commissioners are accountable to their local electorate.'
There have been calls for Sheffield MP and former Home Secretary David Blunkett to step into the post, but he appeared to rule himself out of standing today.
Mr Wright's resignation follows weeks of anger as he clung on to his post, despite being harangued at public meetings and criticised from all sides of the political divide.
At a meeting of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel earlier this month, a grandfather of an alleged victim of child sexual exploitation branded Mr Wright 'a disgrace', adding: 'If I had a gun I would shoot you.'
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Another abuse victim stood up in the public gallery of the meeting and told Mr Wright: 'You let my sister be murdered, you let us be groomed. You should be out or dead.'
She added: 'Alarm bells were ringing since I was 11-years-old and not at one time did I get offered any support from social services or the police.
'How can you sit there and deny everything you've done? How can you do it? What about all those families? You've done nothing to support us. Nothing'.
At times the meeting had to be stopped for appeals to be made for people to calm down as screams of derision were directed at the commissioner as he explained himself in Rotherham's council chamber.
Mr Wright left the meeting before the Panel passed a vote of no confidence in him and endorsed calls for a change in the law to enable him to be sacked.
The angry scenes came after Mr Wright caused fury among MPs on parliament's Home Affairs Committee by telling them he was doing a 'good job'.
Labour MP Paul Flynn responded: 'You are a busted flush, a dead PCC walking... I've been an MP for more than 20 years and you are the least credible witness I've come across. You are a charlatan, in love with office and the salary.'
Mr Wright has been harangued in public meetings since the report revealed 'blatant' failures by authorities
Rotherham child abuse victim Sarah Wilson, whose sister Laura was murdered by a member of an Asian paedophile ring, confronted South Yorkshire police chief Shaun Wright earlier this month
Professor Jay's report revealed around 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham over the 16-year period, predominantly by men from the Pakistani community, and hit out at 'blatant' collective failures by the council's leadership.
She found examples of 'children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally-violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone'.
Mr Wright's resignation will trigger a by-election, the date of which is yet to be determined.
Labour MP for Bassettlaw John Mann has urged former Home Secretary and Sheffield MP David Blunkett to run for election.
He said:'[Mr Blunkett] is a credible and dedicated public servant who has served in a variety of roles locally and nationally.
'He knows and understands South Yorkshire and is widely respected throughout the area. I believe he will get to the bottom of what went wrong in South Yorkshire.'
But Mr Blunkett immediately rejected the idea of standing for the election. His office said: 'Members of Parliament are specifically precluded from standing and he has no intention of causing a by-election seven months out from the General Election.'
SHAUN WRIGHT: HIS RESIGNATION STATEMENT IN FULL
'My role as South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner has clearly become prominent in terms of public opinion and media coverage following the publication of Professor Alexis Jay's report.
'This is detracting from the important issue, which should be everybody's focus - the 1,400 victims outlined in the report - and in providing support to victims and bringing to justice the criminals responsible for the atrocious crimes committed against them.
'With this in mind, I feel that it is now right, to step down from the position of Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire, for the sake of those victims, for the sake of the public of South Yorkshire and to ensure that the important issues outlined in the report about tackling child sexual exploitation can be discussed and considered in full and without distraction.
'As I've previously stated, I entered into public service to make a positive difference in South Yorkshire.
'Protecting vulnerable people and particularly victims of child sexual exploitation has been my number one priority as Commissioner and much progress has been made over the last two years.
'My intention had always been to continue my work with South Yorkshire Police and partners in making all the necessary changes and improvements required to safeguard and support the victims of these horrific crimes, and indeed to protect further potential victims through preventative actions.
'On resigning, I therefore truly wish the force, all the very best in continuing the journey of positive transformational change of those essential services which protect and support our most vulnerable people.'
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