I won't back down on pay and spending cuts, defiant May tells police

Theresa May today warned "angry" police that she would not back down over pay and spending cuts and insisted officers must make sacrifices for the good of the country.

The Home Secretary told rank and file officers at the Police Federation annual conference she understood why they were "worried" about cuts that could see some lose up to £4,000 pay a year.

But only minutes after being accused of presiding over a "kick a cop" policy, she said the economic plight meant tough action was inescapable.

"It's not my job to duck the difficult decisions and tell you what you want to hear," Mrs May told the conference. "It's my job to tell it like it is, take the difficult decisions needed to get the police through these tough times and put policing on a sustainable footing for future generations."

In a concession to police, she said proposed changes to their pensions would now be treated separately from those of other public sector workers in recognition of their "unique" role.

But Mrs May insisted that she must go ahead with reforms to pay and conditions proposed this year in a report by former rail regulator Tom Winsor involving sweeping changes to allowances, overtime and working hours.

Rank and file officers have been angered by the fact that the changes will leave up to 40 per cent worse off, some by as much as £4,000.

They are also concerned about wider spending cuts which will slash 20 per cent from the Government's £11 billion spending on police by 2014/15.

But Mrs May said delaying reductions would ultimately lead to "more cuts to policing and more job losses". She added: "When 80 per cent of police spending goes on wages, pay and conditions must be part of the package.

"I'm sure every person in this room and every member of the public would prefer us to look at pay and conditions rather than lose thousands of posts."

Federation chairman Paul McKeever earlier accused her of taking "revenge" for police opposition to Tory reforms in the Nineties. He added: "We appear to have a Home Office policy that can be defined as 'be kind to criminals, kick a cop'. Police can smell unfairness. Home Secretary, this stinks."