Report finds in-fighting and cash rows in Police Fed

The Chairman of the Police Federation Steve Williams has said the damning review of the body by the RSA, which revealed in-fighting, political posturing and divisions over cash reserves, offers a "roadmap of reform" which must be embraced.

Responding to the publishing of the report, he said:

Read: Review condemns in-fighting and cash rows in Police Federation

The review into the Police Federation has called for a new national board to be set up and led by an elected chairperson to end bitter division within the body and instigate the recommended reforms.

The RSA report said:

The report also called for the existing rank committees to be abolished and subscriptions to be sent directly to the central federation rather than regional branches.

Chaired by Sir David Normington, the review found 68% of the membership felt fairly or very dissatisfied that the national leadership was adequately safeguarding their interests.

The body that represents the 127,000 police officers in England and Wales has been told to make "urgent" sweeping changes amid bitter internal rows over accounts and "political games" being played out to the detriment of its members.

The Police Federation received a damning review from the charity the RSA, which comes in the wake of the "Plebgate" scandal, with some of the membership being accused of pursuing "narrow self-interest" in their actions.

The review found the body was heavily divided into local factions, with 13 branches out of 43 refusing to provide details of profits placed in separate accounts.

The RSA raised questions over a cash surplus of nearly £65 million and called for subscription rates to be cut by 25% next year.

The Police Federation needs to implement a raft of recommendations put forward by an independent review if they are restore public faith in the police, Labour MP Keith Vaz told Daybreak.

Mr Vaz said it was "essential" trust between the federation and the public was restored.

However, he empathised with members of the public who felt let down by the police as he expressed some dismay that the "only people not to apologise" for "Plebgate" were the Police Federation.

Read: Police Federation to be told to make sweeping changes

The Police Federation faces a "very significant programme of reform" in order to become "a trusted voice for frontline police officers", said a former high-ranking civil servant investigating the body.

Sir David Normington, a former Home Office permanent secretary, revealed "91% of federation members think there needs to be change" and said the body needed to "rebuild trust" after a number of police scandals.

Sir David was speaking in a video released ahead of the publication of what is expected to be a damning report into the Police Federation.

The body representing policemen and women in England and Wales is expected to be told to make sweeping changes to the way it is run, governed and funded.

Read more: Police officer admits misconduct over 'Plebgate'

In a report published later today, Sir David Normington is expected to tell the Police Federation to reform after a number of scandals rocked public trust in forces across the country.

The report follows an interim one which warned the federation it risked becoming an "irrelevance" and had "turned in on itself".

The review has examined whether the federation still acts as a credible voice for officers, genuinely serves the public good and functions as an organisational democracy.

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