The chair of Staffordshire's safer roads partnership has resigned after driving an untaxed car, saying it was 'the right thing to do'.

Deputy police, fire and crime commissioner Dave Evans 'unknowingly' went three months without paying the vehicle tax for his Jaguar due to a mix-up with the Direct Debit.

He also drove without a valid MOT for 19 days, and says he only became aware of both issues after being contacted by a journalist. Mr Evans immediately sorted out both problems, and subsequently paid a fine from Staffordshire Police.

A report on the matter, prepared by the commissioner's office, has now been received by Staffordshire's police, fire and crime panel.

Mr Evans told the panel he had made the decision to step down as chair of the safer roads partnership so that the issues with his car do not distract from its work.

Mr Evans, who is also a Conservative elected member on Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "I think it's worth me saying publicly that this was a genuine mistake. But mistakes happen and they do have consequences.

"I have already stepped down as chair of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership. My main reason for doing so it because I'm well aware of the immense amount of work done by volunteers, by our road camera team, by our police officers, by the county council and the city council to keep people safe.

"The last thing those people needed was to be answering questions from the public about me. I think it was the right thing to do, and that's why I did it."

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Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams has now taken over the role of chairing the partnership, which oversees the work by police and councils to improve road safety.

According to the report, Mr Evans bought the Jaguar as his personal vehicle in March 2025. At the time it had a valid MOT, and Mr Evans arranged to pay the vehicle tax by Direct Debit.

But the payments were stopped in November after Mr Evans switched bank accounts, and he was contacted by the DVLA. Mr Evans says he was unable to make a payment through the DVLA website, as the system indicated the car was already taxed.

He also wrongly assumed that the car's MOT was for a full 12 months from the date of purchase, when it actually expired on January 29.

Both issues remained unresolved until Mr Evans received the media inquiry in February. The commisisoner's office referred the matter to Staffordshire Police, resulting in Mr Evans receiving a non-endorsable fixed penalty fine.

Panel members agreed it had been the right decision for Mr Evans to resign from the safer roads partnership, and said they considered the matter closed. Reform UK county councillor Anthony Screen, who previously asked for assurances that 'appropriate investigations' were being carried out, welcomed the report.

He said: "I'm personally satisfied that the police, fire and crime panel's review of this matter has been thorough, transparent and properly conducted.

"While the deputy commissioner's decision to step down as chair of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership is a loss to the partnership, it was the correct decision, in my opinion, to protect its integrity and to maintain public confidence.

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"I would now personally like this matter to be put behind us, so the partnership can continue its important work of improving road safety in Staffordshire."

Panel chair Richard Cox said: "Most of us here are elected by the public, and high standards are expected, we all sign up to that. Mistakes do happen, but it's about learning from those mistakes."