Home Secretary to face 'furious' police officers at conference » Central Government » 24dash.com

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will today face a tough confrontation with police officers who are furious about her handling of their annual pay rise.

Her appearance in front of 1,000 delegates at the Police Federation's annual conference in Bournemouth comes the day after officers voted to lobby for the right to strike.

Officers are expected to hold Ms Smith responsible for the prospect of the first police strike for 90 years.

The Police Federation said 86% of its members want to lobby for the same industrial rights as other workers if the Government is not bound to honour arbitrated pay deals. Federation chairman Jan Berry said of Ms Smith's appearance: "Despite our anger, our frustration and our sense of betrayal we will remain professional and courteous yet robust.

"We will be polite but poignant."

She added that the results of the Ipsos Mori poll were a "wake-up call for the Government".

Mrs Berry, who steps down on Thursday after six years in the job, added that it would be for the federation's next set of officials to decide the next steps.

Turnout in England and Wales was 60,600 votes, or 43%. A separate, informal survey of 9,000 members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland found 90% were in favour of full industrial rights.

More than 20,000 officers marched on Westminster in January over Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision to introduce a 2.5% pay rise in stages, effectively reducing the overall award to 1.9%.

The police last went on strike in 1918 and 1919 in Liverpool and London, leading to the government banning officers from taking industrial action or belonging to a trade union.

Chairman of the federation's sergeants committee, Paul McKeever yesterday accused Ms Smith of being "home secretary in name only" and a "conduit for Gordon Brown's centrally-controlled diktats".

Conservatives have proposed an arbitration system which could only be departed from with the agreement of the House of Commons.

The federation conference will today also discuss policing the London 2012 Olympics and various aspects of immigration and crime.

Police Federation chairman Jan Berry told GMTV: "We don't think the Home Office and Government are listening to people on the ground who have to do an extremely difficult job."