The Home Secretary faced down angry questions on police pay and funding, as she told the Police Federation Conference that police budgets are protected, crime is down and said that average police pay is £40,000 a year.

Amber Rudd's speech to delegates indicated that policy towards the police will remain same, with a promise of more reform including direct entry for chief constables if the Conservatives are elected in June.

She told officers: “You haven’t agreed with the changes we’ve made to pay and pensions, but they were right for the country and the public to tackle the huge deficit we inherited.”

Hampshire Police Federation chairman John Apter told her about the poverty among officers in his force.

"In my force we have a police welfare which is a registered charity. Officers are now going to the welfare fund for food vouchers so they can put food on the table or fuel in their car.

"So the quote you used about doing what's right for the country, is that right?"

Ms Rudd such stories are a concern but added: “Well the average police officer earnings is about £40,000 a year so I'm surprised to hear that,” and was interrupted by a chorus of shouts, as she was drowned out she continued: “That's what I'm told [...] I can see I've not won over the room.”

A PC on the highest pay point would earn just under that amount, and while higher ranks earn more, most officers do not.

But she repeated that she cannot commit a future Conservative Government to raising the level of pay for police officers, at one stage blaming Chancellor Phillip Hammond.

In his speech earlier chairman Steve White contrasted the situation with that of MPs who received an 11 per cent increase the year before last, and highlighted how real terms pay has fallen by 15 per cent.

In her speech she insisted: “We have cut pointless red tape. With 4.5 million hours of police time saved – that’s the equivalent of 2,100 police officers no longer sitting in a back office and instead fighting crime in their community.

“And we’ve cut the target culture. No longer does the Home Office send dozens of ‘policy’ documents each year with thousands of central diktats.

“It’s not for me to tell the police how to do their jobs. And as long as I’m Home Secretary there will be no return to the constant interfering from Westminster.”

Following her repeated insistence that the police budget is being protected by Conservative policy and that she expects it to be in the next parliament, a series of Fed reps, including Merseyside's Peter Singleton and West Yorkshire's Nick Smart described officers being run ragged following years of police cuts.

Mr Smart said: “It's a crisis across the country. If you're being told it's not happening you need to change your advisors.

“We're the service of first resort. Until you change that as Home Secretary, we will always be on the back foot”.

She insisted she visited officers to see what happens on the frontline, but one rep suggested chiefs don't give her the true picture when they know she's going to visit and that she should surprise forces.

While she was claiming budgets are sufficient, Leicestershire Chief Constable Simon Cole posted his force's funding projections on Twitter.

Here is @LeicsPCC budget projections ahead#polfed17 @LeicesterPolFed pic.twitter.com/kCgQguNdqy

— Simon Cole (@CCLeicsPolice) May 17, 2017