Mr Cramphorn took over as acting chief constable when Sir Ronnie Flanagan stepped down from the post at the beginning of April.

Colin Cramphorn: Ruled himself out

In his statement, Mr Cramphorn said: "It has become apparent to me that the board's aspiration is for a chief constable of a style and type that I could never be.

"In recognition of this and out of respect for the board's prerogative in the matter of the appointment of chief officers I have therefore decided not to burden the board with an application which would be in neither my own or the board's long term best interests."

The police officer has recently been interviewed for a number of chief constable posts in England and Wales.

Two assistant chief constables in the Police Service of Northern Ireland are expected to apply for the chief constable post.

Sir Ronnie oversaw the start of sweeping changes to Northern Ireland's police service.

The Policing Board asked Mr Cramphorn, who had been the deputy chief constable, to act up until a new chief constable was chosen.

Sir Ronnie: Resigned

Colin Cramphorn, aged 45, was appointed deputy chief constable in Northern Ireland in September 1998.

Recently, he was shortlisted for five chief constable posts - Thames Valley, Sussex, Manchester, Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders.

He is expected to be interviewed for further chief constable posts in England, including Devon and Cornwall.

Democratic Unionist Ian Paisley Junior, a member of the Policing Board, said he was not surprised at the announcement.

"It is probably fair to say that he is possibly not of the type that certain members of the board - who have been very vocal - are actually looking for," he said.

"This is a blow to those members of the board who were portraying the board as - not as anti-police - but certainly not on the same side as the police.

"That is a serious matter that the board has got to address."