Youth crime commissioner Paris Brown quits post

BRITAIN’S first youth crime commissioner today said she was “truly sorry for any offence” caused as she stood down from her role following messages she wrote on Twitter.

• Paris Brown quits role as youth crime commissioner following messages posted on her Twitter account

• Miss Brown was condemned after posting a series of offensive tweets prior to taking the role

Paris Brown, 17, from Sheerness, Kent, was appointed to the £15,000-a-year post only last week.

Speaking at a press conference in Maidstone, Kent, Miss Brown said she had “taken the decision to decline the offer of the position” as she felt recent media attention would affect her ability to carry out the job.

She added: “I am truly sorry for any offence I have caused.”

Miss Brown had been accused of publishing a series of racist and homophobic tweets between the ages of 14 and 16, before she was appointed to the role.

She denied being racist or anti-gay, and also rejected suggestions she advocated drug-taking, insisting that a reference on Twitter to making “hash brownies” was from a Scooby Doo film. The offensive tweets have now been deleted.

In a statement on Sunday, Miss Brown said: “I deeply apologise for any offence caused by my use of inappropriate language and for any inference of inappropriate views.

“I am not homophobic, racist or violent and am against the taking of drugs.

“If I’m guilty of anything, it’s showing off and wildly exaggerating on Twitter and I am very ashamed of myself.”