Public confidence in police 'severely shaken'

Public confidence in the police has been "severely shaken" by a series of controversies, an annual report into the service has said.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary. Tom Winsor, said cases such as the Stephen Lawrence investigation and the 'plebgate' scandal involving former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell had all damaged the police's reputation.

"Controversies and revelations of a serious and negative nature in relation to the conduct of some police officers, both past and present, have hurt public confidence in the police," his report says.