THE body which represents police in North Yorkshire has criticised Theresa May's attitude towards warnings from officers.

National chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter said the PM appeared to dispute using the phrase ‘crying wolf’ at the 2015 PFEW Annual Conference when she was Home Secretary over police warnings that budget cuts would affect crime levels .

Mr Apter said: "Along with hundreds of other police officers, I was there and distinctly heard Mrs May say ‘This crying wolf has to stop’. The comments were made, everybody heard it and now her selective memory has come back to bite her."

A clip from the interview has since been shared on YouTube, along with a clip of Mrs May speaking as Home Secretary at the 2015 conference stating "this crying wolf has to stop".

Rob Bowles, from North Yorkshire Police Federation, said the Prime Minister's attitude towards police warnings was "wrong as well as offensive".

He said: "The disdain that the Prime Minister has for the police service was evident in the 'crying wolf' comments she made to the Federation conference.

"With a UK-wide increase of 16 per cent in offences involving knives or sharp instruments, a 12 per cent increase in homicides, a 17 per cent increase in vehicle related thefts, a 30 per cent increase in robbery related offences and a 36 per cent increase in public order offences, her words have been proven to be completely wrong as well as offensive. To deny that she said it at all is just mendacious."

Mr Apter said: "The whole tone of the interview reinforces the message that the Prime Minister has nothing but contempt for policing.

"It was the ideal moment for her to show her support for our hardworking dedicated officers who are working flat out to try and meet pubic demand, at a time when crime rates are rising and resources are dwindling. But instead she chose to dispute her choice of words at our conference; sadly this is what I have come to expect of her."