UK police chief resigns after saying women should be 'streetwise' following Sarah Everard's murder by a cop

• The police commissioner for North Yorkshire, England's Police, Fire and Crime department resigned.
• Philip Allott faced backlash after comments he made publicly on the Sarah Everard case.

The police commissioner for North Yorkshire, England's Police, Fire and Crime department has resigned following public backlash toward comments he made regarding the murder of Sarah Everard, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Philip Allott said in a recent radio interview with BBC Radio York that women should be "streetwise" and that they should know "when they can be arrested and when they can't be arrested," the report said.

His comments, which prompted public backlash, were directed at the case of Sarah Everard, who was falsely arrested, raped, and murdered by London Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens on March 3, Insider previously reported.

Couzens was sentenced to life in prison on September 30.

Allott's radio interview led to the county's Police, Fire and Crime panel passing a unanimous no-confidence vote, and he resigned shortly after, the BBC said.

Allott said in an open letter that he had been trying "to rebuild trust and confidence" in his work as commissioner.

"I apologise unreservedly for my remarks," he wrote. "They do not reflect my views. I misspoke and I am devastated at the effect that this has had on victims of crime and the groups that support them."

"Doing what's right is hard!" he wrote on Twitter.

North Yorkshire Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.