Alastair McWhirter criticised Cambs police while talking to councillors about policing in the East Anglia area.

He said that "Suffolk and Norfolk are very high-performing police areas but there are problems with Cambs".

Julie Spence, Acting Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, responded by saying that he should be better informed.

'Dramatically improved'

Mr McWhirter was talking about the possibility of East Anglian forces - Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire or Essex - being merged as part of a national review of policing.

He told members of Ipswich Borough Council: "Cambridgeshire is the Billy No Mates when it comes to performance."

Cambridgeshire was ranked in the bottom five of the 43 forces in England and Wales in the latest government rankings issued in October this year.

Mr McWhirter was unavailable for comment but a Suffolk Police spokeswoman said there was no question of him being disciplined or resigning.

Mrs Spence said: "Mr McWhirter is entitled to his views but I would have expected a neighbouring chief constable to have noticed that Cambridgeshire's performance has dramatically improved this year as part of an on-going programme to become first-class.

"It is very much a match for any force in the country."