Thousands of police jobs are at risk because the government is making individual forces fund its one-off extra 1 per cent for officers, leaked documents revealed yesterday.

Treasury documents seen by shadow chancellor John McDonnell show that forces will have to find an extra £96 million — even after seven years of deep cuts that have slashed officer numbers by 20,000.

An extra 2,688 police officers and staff could lose their jobs if numbers have to be cut to fund the top-up payment.