West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson has revealed what he has achieved in his first six months, the day after it was found his chief executive is the highest paid in that role in England.

The £117,762 paid to Fraser Sampson is almost twice the salary enjoyed by his counterpart in County Durham, who is the lowest-paid.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Burns-Williamson, said: “Over the last six months I have visited officers and staff across the county including going out on the beat with neighbourhood policing teams and have seen at first hand the hard work and dedication shown by West Yorkshire Police.

“I have appointed a new Chief Constable and, having set the budget for the year ahead, I am delighted to now be recruiting 44 new front-line police officers.

“Supporting this vital work I see one of my main achievements to date as the agreement reached between all five local councils to protect the funding of Police Community Support Officers.”

A report this week by the Commons’ Home Affairs Committee warns that voters are unable to judge whether their new police chiefs are “giving them a good deal”.

The report stated that Mr Burns-Williamson employs 26 paid staff on top of his own salary of £100,000.