DEVON and Cornwall Liberal Democrats have selected their candidate for the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Former Teignbridge MP, Richard YoungerRoss has been picked to contest the election in May.

Mr Younger-Ross represented Teignbridge from 2001 to 2010.

As an MP he sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee as well as the European Scrutiny Committee.

He drafted the Emergency Workers Obstruction Bill which became law in 2005 giving greater protection to ambulance and fire crews and to all NHS staff.

He is currently a Devon County councillor and works for a national charity.

Devon and Cornwall Chair Adam Killeya said: “Richard is an experienced campaigner, as the commissioner he will make the strongest case for Devon and Cornwall, his knowledge of Whitehall and how Westminster works is going to be vital to our securing the fair funding deal that our police force needs.”

Richard Younger-Ross said: “I have three main priorities: to secure a fair funding deal for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force; to maintain and improve the visibility of our police force and improve the 101 service; and to protect the force from a forced merger with Somerset and Avon which would only make decision making more remote. I will listen to the views of the communities of Devon and Cornwall and and ensure their concerns are built into the police plan. I will also campaign to abolish the commissioner post.

“Such powers should not be given to a single person. I will not allow the post or the police to be politicised.”

Mr Younger-Ross is the latest candidate to be announced as running for the role in the elections which take place on May 5.

Also announced so far are Alison Hernandez, a former Torbay councillor for the Conservatives, and former police chief Bob Spencer, who has declared he will run as an independent candidate this year.

Labour has yet to declare officially who their candidate will be.