Police 'at war' with Government

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The Metropolitan Police Federation accused ministers of attempting to "trample on the well-being" of officers while also hitting out at the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) for its "shameful silence" over the issue.

The comments follow the unprecedented call by police leaders for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to quit. The Government is also now facing a ballot in which every officer in Britain will be asked whether they want the right to strike.

So far, Ms Smith has steadfastly refused to back down in the angry row, triggered by her decision to stage their 2.5% pay deal. Prime Minister Gordon Brown also defended the controversial police pay award, saying it was part of an "anti-inflation strategy" in the national economic interest.

Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee, Mr Brown said he was prepared to meet representatives of the Police Federation and the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss the issue.

Following an emergency meeting of hundreds of delegates in Westminster, officers backed a formal ballot on whether they should begin to overturn current laws which ban them from taking industrial action.

In a statement, Peter Smyth, vice chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: "The Government's attempt to trample on police officers' well-being by shredding a long standing, fair and effective mechanism for deciding pay has goaded officers into doing the previously unthinkable - contemplating seeking the right to take industrial action.

"The MPA's only reaction, so far as we can see, is to sit glassy eyed in front of their televisions. London has heard nothing from them. Police officers have heard nothing."

Referring to a recent "London Week of Peace" event which was supported by the MPA, he added: "Well, now London's officers are at war with the Government. The MPA's pathetic and shameful silence must end immediately."

The comments will heap further pressure on Ms Smith, following a near-unanimous vote of no confidence in her by officers. Police Federation chairman Jan Berry said on Wednesday that the call for a Home Secretary's resignation was unprecedented.