KENT'S Chief Constable Mike Fuller is pressing Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to reconsider her decision only to backdate this year's police officer pay award to 1 December.

The decision means that although the pay increase was agreed at 2.5 per cent, in real terms this represents an increase of 1.9 per cent, because the pay year starts on 1 September.

Mr Fuller said: "I know how strongly my officers feel about this. They quite rightly believed that the increase would be backdated, which is normal practice, and they feel cheated.

"It has had an enormous impact on officers' morale. They feel deeply aggrieved by this decision and regard it as having set a dangerous precedent that clearly serves to create mistrust.

"In previous pay disputes there was an accepted principle that any finally agreed pay increase would be backdated to the date the increase was due. The recent decision would appear to abandon this principle.

"While clearly all the officers involved accept the financial realities and that up to now they have been reasonably well paid, police officers do face many dangers and are expected to take risks that are not faced by other public sector workers. Nationally, 10 officers died in the line of duty last year.

"Officers are also in the unique position that it would be unlawful of them to strike in any dispute with the Government.

"I had believed the pay award would be implemented from 1 September and I, in common with colleagues across the country, am extremely disappointed that this is not now the case."

He added that the position not to backdate the pay settlement was regarded as highly insensitive and he urged the Home Secretary to reconsider, particularly in the light of the fact that the Scottish Parliament has agreed to backdate the settlement for officers in Scotland.

Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Despite an eleventh hour appeal to the Home Secretary to change her mind on this, she has confirmed to the 140,000 officers in England and Wales exactly what the government thinks of them.

“The way my colleagues are being treated is absolutely disgusting. Compare this to our colleagues in Scotland who have been informed they will receive the full 2.5 per cent backdated to 1st September.

"We are very pleased for them; unlike the Home Office, the Scottish administration has acted with honour and demonstrated they understand the difficulties of modern policing and the restrictions on officers’ lives.

“We are not going to take this lying down. If the government want a fight, they have got a fight.

"We are actively pursuing a legal challenge and have requested an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary who must be held to account for her scandalous decision.”