Video: The Times Crime and Security Editor reports on the march

An estimated 18,000 police officers marched from Park Lane to the House of Commons today in protest over their rate of pay.

The officers arrived in London this morning on scores of coaches from around the UK, dressed in civilian clothes and wearing white baseball caps that demanded “Fair pay for police”.

While the protestors were bearing down on Westminster, Gordon Brown told MPs: “There has been a 39 per cent rise in police pay over the last 10 years.

“I would like to have given the police more, I would like to have given the nurses more, I would like to have given those public sector workers who found there wages staged more.

“But if pay rises are wiped out by ever-rising inflation then no benefit goes to either the police or to anybody who receives these benefits.”

The pay dispute arose after Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, refused to backdate a 2.5 per cent pay rise agreed by an independent arbitration panel. The Federation argue that the pay rise was therefore only 1.9 per cent and well below the rate of inflation.

Pc Michael Ramsden, of Thames Valley Police, was one of the protestors. “I feel we have been lied to. We have no confidence in her at all,” he said.

The Police Federation announced today that it has applied for a judicial review of the decision by ministers not to emulate Scottish politicians and backdate the pay rise.

A spokesman for the body said that it filed the application yesterday after the Government went against the arbitration panel's recommendation.

The pay rise was introduced from last month rather than backdated to April, effectively reducing the award from 2.5 per cent to less than 2 per cent.

Today's rally was the first mass police protest since 2002 when 5,000 officers demonstrated against plans for more flexible pay and conditions.

The Police Federation, which has co-ordinated the protest, claimed that more than 18,000 officers were using their days off to pound the streets of Central London - while a further 150 were on duty to police their fellow officers.

Mick Powell, a West Midlands Federation Official, said: “Our message to the Home Secretary is that when you go through a binding agreement, you should stick to it.”

Political pressure was also growing on the Home Secretary with a cross-party group of MPs meeting demonstrators this morning.

Sir George Young, Conservative MP and former minister, insisted that if the Prime Minister had asked ex-home secretaries Charles Clarke or John Reid to reduce a police pay award they would have told him to “get lost”.

Tony Benn, a former Labour MP, joined the marchers, and said: “Seeing the police without their uniforms, you realise they are just part of the community like everyone else.

“They are going to win this. It’s clear that this is driven by Gordon Brown telling Jacqui Smith what to do.”

Jan Berry, chair of the Police Federation, said that the Federation would lobby for legislation to remove the Home Secretary’s ability to reject independent pay recommendations. She will meet Ms Smith this afternoon after handing a petition to 10 Downing Street.

“I do not remember having so much cross-party support on any other issue and that is because we are in the right,” said Ms Berry.

“But I find it very sad when the level of support is not making any difference.”

Police are banned from going on strike, but Federation members will be balloted next month on whether to campaign for the right to take industrial action in the future.

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