The Home Secretary has made an unlikely job offer to a former high-ranking police officer who accused her of betraying the police service.

Jan Berry, whose tenure heading the powerful Police Federation of England and Wales expired in May, has been asked to head up a task-force looking at how to slash red-tape.

Ms Berry said she was "surprised and flattered" by the offer. She said she had not yet decided whether to take up the role due to doubts over its independence.

The former officer made headlines in her final year by holding a vote among rank-and-file officers, which passed with an overwhelming majority of 86 per cent, requesting the right to strike over Jacqui Smith's decision to override an arbitrated wage settlement and withhold part of the 2007 police pay rise.

Giving a speech to her last Police Federation conference, she told the Home Secretary that she had lost the trust of officers because of the decision.

“It was a monumental mistake and I do not say this lightly when I say you betrayed the police service,” she said, with a stony-faced Ms Smith looking on.

Also during the speech, Ms Berry mocked Ms Smith over her confession that she smoked cannabis in her youth. “Your recent crimes have been more for the serious fraud office than the drug squad,” she said.

Yet, despite her attacks, the Home Secretary praised Ms Berry at the time for her commitment to policing, and added: “We have not seen the last of you."

A Police Federation spokesman said the job offer was a personal decision for Ms Berry to consider.

He said: “Bureaucracy is an extremely important area for us and for frontline officers. We appreciate that it needs somebody with substantial experience to make a difference.”

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