New sleaze row for fire boss who hired his ‘lover’… This time she gets a top job at a Home Office funded company where he is chairman

• Nicci Marzec stood down after ten days and Mr Mold faced calls for resignation
• Now Ms Marzec landed a top job at a taxpayer-funded firm where he is chairman

By Daisy Graham-Brown[1]

Published: 00:05, 10 December 2023 | Updated: 00:36, 10 December 2023

There was outrage after Tory[2] police and fire chief Stephen Mold hired his 'girlfriend' to lead the fire brigade, despite her having zero experience for the role.

Nicci Marzec, 51, stood down after ten days and Mr Mold - who insisted she was 'just a really good friend' - faced calls for his resignation from angry residents in Northampton earlier this year.

Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr Mold is facing fresh controversy after Ms Marzec landed a top job at a taxpayer-funded firm where he is chairman.

She started as a consultant at the Home Office-run Police Digital Service last month. The non-profit firm, which receives more than GBP50 million a year, manages digital services for UK police forces. A source close to the service said: 'I am utterly disgusted - at some stage this has to stop.

'She has been brought in to the company where Mold is head of the board, and serious questions have to be asked around why that was, how it happened, what was the process, who did it - and at what cost?'

There was outrage after Tory police and fire chief Stephen Mold hired his 'girlfriend' to lead the fire brigade, despite her having zero experience for the role

Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr Mold is facing fresh controversy after Ms Marzec landed a top job at a taxpayer-funded firm where he is chairman

Ms Marzec resigned as interim boss of Northamptonshire Fire And Rescue Service in July following criticism over her appointment.

At the time, five different sources told The Mail on Sunday that Ms Marzec and Mr Mold were a couple and had taken their respective children from previous relationships on holiday to Center Parcs.

Mr Mold last night continued to deny he had ever been in a romantic relationship with Ms Marzec, but multiple sources said it was an 'open secret' that they were together.

Just three weeks ago the pair were seen together attending a Diwali celebration hosted by Northamptonshire Police.

One source who was at the event said: 'They were both there and they were acting very much as a couple.

They arrived together, they sat on the same table together and they left together.'

As well as being board chair for the Police Digital Service, Mr Mold heads up the Standards of Policing group for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Last night Tory councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage said he was 'astonished and shocked' to hear about Ms Marzec's new role.

'It strikes me as being incredibly unprofessional and improper bearing in mind that Stephen Mold is the chair of the board,' he added.

Labour councillor Danielle Stone, who will be running against Mold for the commissioner role in the May elections, said: 'This is completely beyond the pale.

'That Nicci Marzec was appointed once to a role without due process is wrong, but that this could happen twice is a scandal.'

A spokesman for the Police Digital Service said: 'Any decision to offer employment to individuals is based purely on the skills and experience they demonstrate at interview.'

A spokesman for Stephen Mold said: 'Ms Marzec and Stephen Mold are not and have never been in a relationship.

Mr Mold was a guest invited to the Wellingborough Diwali celebration in his role as a community leader.

'It is our understanding Ms Marzec was invited separately in a personal capacity as a guest of the event organisers.'

Ms Marzec did not respond to request for comment.

References

1. ^ Daisy Graham-Brown (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Tory (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ The Home Office (www.dailymail.co.uk)
4. ^ Conservatives (www.dailymail.co.uk)