Badenoch tells police she is 'not scared to wade in' as she criticises the hounding of officers who do right

Kemi Badenoch addressed the Police Federation conference, warning that much of the public now views officers as a 'ghost service'. She pointed to the case of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old who was handcuffed as he lay dying in Southampton. She argued that Sgt Matthew Blake, acquitted of murdering Chris Kaba, 'didn't get the backing he deserved'. Badenoch also criticised Labour for keeping ministers away from the conference for two consecutive years.

Badenoch said austerity-era cuts to officer numbers under Theresa May had been a mistake.

'A lot of the bad players are gone,' she said, urging police to trust the Tories.

She could not promise a 'massive pay rise' on day one but pledged 10,000 more officers.