The Kent Police Authority has welcomed the scrapping of plans that would have given the public the power to elect some of its members.

The move had been aimed at making forces more accountable to their local communities.

But it caused outrage in both police and local councils when its details were revealed in last month's Queen's speech, with many concerned the elections would become based on political views.

Chair of the KPA, Ann Barnes, said she was pleased the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had decided to drop the idea.

She said: "This change of heart will save money and will mean that party politics aren't introduced into policing. Had direct elections taken place there could have been a very real danger of people joining the Authority with their own agenda.

"It’s so important for the public to have a police watchdog able to operate in a non party-political way and make decisions on policing priorities and budgets fairly. This is the right result."

The chief executive, Mark Gilmartin, said: "We must ensure there is a balance on the police authority across the political parties, which is supplemented by independent members with a lot of private and public sector expertise to help hold the force to account, set public policing priorities and work with the chief in his team.

"We think that's the best system in terms of the governance of policing."