Ian Hopkins was paid £377,000 in his final year before being forced out as chief constable of GMP, accounts show

Ian Hopkins was paid £217,000 in 'termination benefits' on top of his wages when he was forced out as chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, accounts show.

It means his total remuneration for that year topped £377,000 when his salary of £160,000 is added despite leading what was branded at the time as a failing police force.

Mr Hopkins was ordered by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to leave his role as chief constable of GMP in December 2020 after a damning police inspectorate report revealed the force had failed to record an estimated 80,000 crimes in one year, plunging GMP into special measures where it remains today.

The mayor's office said Mr Hopkins was paid 'a ccording to his contractual terms and nothing more'.

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GMP's latest published unaudited accounts, signed off on July 29, reveal the salaries of the force's highest earners in the year to March 2022, including Mr Hopkin's successor Stephen Watson who was paid £175,000. He was installed in late May.

The accounts show nine different assistant chief constables on the payroll during the year, a much higher number than usual as the new chief brought in new faces and others left. The tax-payer was also effectively paying for two chief constables until Mr Watson was installed, as deputy chief constable Ian Pilling stepped in to the top job while a successor was sought.

Six people earned in excess of £100,000 during the year to March, but Chief Constable Watson was nowhere near being the highest earner: the accounts show that accolade went to Assistant Chief Officer Chris Kinsella, a former director of automotive industry multinational TI