The Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex has yet again defended the wage he chose for policing chief Stephen Kavanagh after it emerged that he is the second-highest earner in the force.

Raking in a whopping £192,000 per year, Chief Constable Kavanagh is earning more than £20k more than his northern counterparts, in some cases.

Today, Nick Alston, PCC, said that he would welcome a review into pay to ensure fairness, but stood by his decision.

He said: “When Chief Constable Kavanagh was appointed, I decided that it was right to be completely open and transparent about the remuneration package that he receives. Some elements of that package are nationally mandated, such as a housing allowance. Other elements are discretionary.

"The ability to change the remuneration package of a Chief Constable is strictly limited, and it is difficult to reward exceptional performance. This seems unnecessarily restrictive.

“On Chief Constable Kavanagh’s appointment, I stated that I would welcome a fundamental review of Chief Officer allowances and remuneration arrangements to ensure that they are both appropriate and sufficiently flexible for the times in which we live.

“I consider it essential that we have complete openness and transparency about the remuneration we pay to all our officers, including Chief Officers. It is a vital part of ensuring the continuation of trust and respect on which our policing tradition is based.

“In any future discussion about Chief Officer remuneration, I consider it important that all allowances and bonuses are included so we can make life-for-like comparisons across forces.”

Mr Alston went on to identify that a Chief Constable for Essex in 2008-2009 was paid significant bonuses and allowances taking his remuneration up to £215,896.

The following year, according to the Statement of Accounts for the Essex Police Authority, the Chief Constable received £37,105 in salary, but was awarded £60,071 in bonuses and £15,434 in expenses allowances. That Chief Constable retired from Essex Police in July 2009, but if he had served a full year, his salary plus bonuses and allowances would have totalled £220,015.

The payment decisions by the then Policing Authority were criticised by the PCC for being made ‘outside of the public domain’ something which he says should not happen in the future.

He said: "I am renewing my call for a national review of Chief Officer allowances and bonuses to guarantee consistency and accountability, and reinforce public trust. I would also encourage all Police and Crime Commissioners and all Chief Constables to ensure that full details of our remuneration and allowances are published to demonstrate our integrity."

Mr Alston’s statement was made in the wake of an investigation by the home affairs select committee into the standards of police leadership in England and Wales.

The committee has recommended that Chief constables are fined if they breach a new national code of ethics and integrity.

After an investigation discovered a patchwork system of standards the committee has ordered that the new body, the College of Policing, devise a strict ethical code for all officers.

Mr Alston said: “I welcome the calls to ensure we have the highest standards of openness and integrity in our police service, and I am delighted that the new College of Policing will be drawing up guidelines which will apply to forces across the country. It is essential that the College of Policing consults widely outside the police service on these guidelines.”