Foul-mouthed teen crime tsar QUITS her £15,000-a-year youth commissioner role after police launch investigation into Twitter rant

Paris Brown, 17, says she was 'truly sorry for any offence' at news conference



She posted offensive Tweets about her sex life, drinking binges and drugs

The teenager's Tweets were NOT vetted before she was appointed



In one message she wrote: 'I really wanna make a batch of hash brownies'

She also attacked a pizza company for appointing foreign workers and wrote: 'IT IS CALLED ENGLISH. LEARN IT.'

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes said: 'I was not recruiting an angel... I was recruiting a young person, warts and all'

Mrs Barnes, who appointed the youth commissioner, refuses to stand down herself



Britain's first youth crime commissioner quit yesterday after her own police force launched an investigation into racist and homophobic comments she posted on the internet.

Paris Brown, 17, wrote the offensive messages on her personal Twitter account, which also included boasts about her sex life, violence, drinking binges and drugs.

The teenager, who was appointed to the £15,000-a-year taxpayer-funded position only last week, had given a tearful apology about her behaviour.



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Resignation: Paris Brown, 17, pictured with Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes tells a press conference she is not taking up her £15,000-a-year role

Upset: Paris Brown, 17, in tears as she apologises for posting a series of offensive posts on Twitter, resigned as Britain's first youth police and crime commissioner

She claimed she had merely been ‘showing off’ after the remarks were revealed on Sunday.

But her position became untenable yesterday when Kent Police – which had selected her from 164 candidates – announced it had begun an inquiry into whether any crime had been committed following several complaints from the public.

Her resignation is a huge embarrassment for the Kent force and its Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes, who appointed the teenager to the role.

Two days earlier she had backed Miss Brown despite her Twitter rant – saying that ‘everybody makes mistakes’ and that she was ‘very proud’ of the girl for apologising.

Opponents have argued that the job was a ‘gimmick’ and too overwhelming for a teenager to carry out.

They also raised questions about the thoroughness of the vetting procedure and interview selection, carried out by retired West Mercia chief constable Paul West and a serving officer.

Contrite: Paris Brown, 17, said she was 'truly sorry for any offence' after Tweeting about her sex life, drinking binges and drugs

Her resignation is a huge embarrassment for the Kent force and its Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes, who appointed the teenager to the role Twitter feed: Paris Brown and her view Tweeted on another user's picture of a cannabis top

Defece: Police and local Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes (left) has defended Miss Brown (right) saying she was 'angry about it, but we will have to move on'

VIDEO Missed it? Watch the first youth crime commissioner step down

But rather than now scrap the ‘youth crime tsar’ role, Mrs Barnes said the revelations had ‘strengthened her desire’ to continue with the appointment.

Miss Brown wrote the messages during the last six months before she was given the role of helping the force ‘stay in touch with young people’.

She called homosexuals ‘fags’, immigrants ‘illegals’ and travellers ‘pikeys’, and said she had ‘a thing for older men’, an apparent reference to a teacher at her former school.

In another tweet, seemingly referring to cannabis, she wrote: ‘I really wanna make a batch of hash brownies.’ And she attacked the men in the reality TV programme Made In Chelsea, writing: ‘Everyone on Made In Chelsea looks like a ******* fag.’

Miss Brown lives with her parents in a £250,000 three-bedroom terrace house in Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey.



She is also being investigated by Swale District Council, where she has an apprenticeship as an office junior, for posting inappropriate messages while at work.

Commenting on her resignation, Miss Brown said: ‘I have made this decision after a great deal of thought and consultation with my family.

Probe: Former Kent Police youth crime commissioner Miss Brown, pictured with Ann Barnes, before she was forced to give up the job

'Very exceptional': Paris Brown was one of 164 applicants for her job, intended to provide young people's views on policing

‘As I made clear over the weekend, I accept that I have made comments on social networking sites which have offended many people. I am really sorry for any offence caused.

‘I strongly reiterate that I am not racist or homophobic.



'I have fallen into the trap of behaving with bravado on social networking sites.



'I hope this may stand as a learning experience for many other young people.’

Mrs Barnes, 67, who was elected to the £85,000-a-year PCC role last year, said she made the appointment after being impressed during an interview in which Miss Brown said she wanted to ‘make a difference’.

The teenager was due to take up the role in July, with Mrs Barnes paying £5,000 of her wages from her own salary. Mrs Barnes added: ‘I was not recruiting an angel. I was not recruiting a police officer. I was recruiting a young person, warts and all.

‘It is personally sad for Paris and her family.



'An enthusiastic young woman with exceptional skills and a proven track record in working with young people has ended up in a position where she has turned down the job of a lifetime for her.’

Mrs Barnes said the post would be readvertised in the summer and a ‘review’ will be carried out into the fact that Miss Brown’s social network accounts were not checked before her appointment.

Tunbridge Wells Conservative councillor Nicholas Rogers said it had been ‘naïve to throw a teen into a robust political environment’.

He added on his Twitter account: ‘Youth PCC nice bit of PR, but ended in tears.’