The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police has branded the decision to impose a pay freeze on officers as “wholly unacceptable” and an “insult”.

In a statement on his Twitter account on Thursday night, Nick Adderley said: “Over the past 18 months I have seen officers punched, stabbed, shot, persecuted and ridiculed whilst attempting to implement confusing, rushed and ambiguous legislation, in order to protect the public and rightly, the NHS, only to be ignored when it comes to a pay settlement.

“The announcement today of a 0% pay increase for police officers is quite frankly an insult and wholly unacceptable.

“Pay aside, this indicates a complete lack of awareness, appreciation or recognition for the incredible work officers have done throughout this pandemic.”

Mr Adderley’s comments came after the Police Federation of England and Wales said it no longer has confidence in Home Secretary Priti Patel, branding the bitterly-opposed pay freeze for officers earning more than £24,000 as the final straw.

The body, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the pay system is “not fit for purpose” as it announced plans to withdraw its support from the body which reviews remuneration.

The Police Federation’s national chairman John Apter said: “We often hear the Home Secretary praise police officers but our members are so angry with this Government. They have been on the frontline of this pandemic for 18 months and will now see other public services given pay increases while they receive nothing.

“At the beginning of this pandemic they endured PPE shortages and were not even prioritised for the vaccination.

“They continue to be politicised and this pay announcement is the final straw.”

Announcing the pay freeze in a written ministerial statement, Ms Patel said it will ensure fairness between public and private sector wage growth, as the private sector has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.