Labour’s candidate to become Hertfordshire’s new elected police and crime commissioner has pledged to scrap a controversial plan to outsource large swathes of the county’s police operations to the under-fire security company G4S.

Sherma Batson is to stand against Conservative candidate David Lloyd and Lib Dem Ron Tindall on November 15 for the £75,000- a-year Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner role.

Hertfordshire Constabulary announced this week that due to delays caused by Olympic security fiasco the final decision on the tender will be made after the November 15 elections.

The move means the G4S bid could become a heated political issue in the run-up to the ballot and Councillor Batson has been the first to publically declare her position.

She said: “I still believe that in something as fundamental as the provision of

our police services, at least one other option should be considered and that should be an internal solution.

“Outsourcing to a private company will dilute the services we get from the police.

“The men and women of the constabulary provide a service for the community with pride and diligence and this is something that would most certainly be lost.

“If I am elected, I will be looking at finding an alternative option to privatisation.

“There are some fundamental services that should not be outsourced in this way and we need to protect our neighbourhoods from private companies.”

Councillor Lloyd and Councillor Tindall could not immediately be reached for comment.