The chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation has added his voice to the calls for the resignation of the Home Secretary over the ongoing police pay dispute.

His comments come as the Police Federation voted to ballot for strike action over pay at a summit in London.

WYPF Chair Tom McGhie, speaking after the emergency summit, said that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith lacked the ability to deal with the issue and said there was a strong feeling among the force that she should stand down.

Mr McGhie said: "There is no doubt about the fact that there is a huge strength of feeling against the Home Secretary.

"Officers have lost confidence in her and many do not believe she has the ability to deal with this issue. We are calling for her to resign.

"We see officers coming into the force on a fairly regular basis finding it difficult to make ends meet. Younger officers are on £20,000 a year and in effect people are being forced to take pay cuts to join the force.

"We have a situation where some officers are having to be assisted by charities.

"A lot of the younger officers have accrued debt through student loans and with the increase in interest and mortgage rates they need to be given a pay increase. Public servants are being made scapegoats by the Government."