The police officer who was blinded by killer Raoul Moat has challenged Home Secretary Theresa May over whether she thought his £35,000 salary was too much.
Pc David Rathband entered the row over police pay and conditions which has angered thousands of rank-and-file officers at the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth.
Appearing via videolink, the 43-year-old father-of-two said: "I was paid £35,000 last year. Do you think I'm paid too much?"
Anger has been building since former rail regulator Tom Winsor said the most wide-ranging analysis of police pay in 30 years showed more than £1 billion of savings should be made.
Tens of thousands of officers warned this week that crime levels could soar after the cuts. More than 98% of respondents to a federation survey said morale had dropped amid warnings of falling police numbers and possible cuts to take-home wage packets.
Mrs May responded to a wave of criticism from rank and file officers by saying it was "simply not true" that the Government was singling out police over the cuts.
After listening to Police Federation chairman Paul McKeever branding the cuts unfair, she said ministers were taking action to ensure the service was on a "sustainable" footing for generations.
Mrs May added: "We do have the best police force in the world."
The police pension age "should be considered separately from the rest of the public sector", Mrs May announced. She insisted the Government was "doing everything we can to protect frontline jobs".
"But the fact remains that police pay and conditions have to be part of the package when 80% of forces' spending goes on pay," she said.
