A top police chief has blasted a Tory MP who criticised GMP for its handling of protesters at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Insp Ian Hanson, chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said he found it ‘absolutely incredible’ that Ribble Valley’s Nigel Evans chastised officers during a House of Commons debate.

Mr Evans, highlighting that delegates were subjected to ‘vile abuse tantamount to hate crimes’, spat at and pelted with eggs during the four-day conference in Manchester, said GMP’s response was ‘totally inadequate’.

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Tory MP demands answers from GMP after delegates were subjected to 'vile abuse', egged and spat at

He demanded answers from police chiefs and Minister of State for Justice, Mike Penning.

Officers made just 19 arrests over the course of the conference.

Police chiefs said the ‘incredibly complex’ operation - in the face of a huge amount of ‘protest and direct activism’ - was one of the most difficult in a decade.

Insp Hanson, telling MP Mr Evans to ‘get over himself’, insisted officers managed the conference well.

He added: “I find it absolutely incredible that Nigel Evans has launched such a ferocious attack on GMP after a week where we worked tirelessly to keep him and his colleagues safe.

“An enormous amount of work went into the operation, which saw the biggest ever demonstration in the history of Manchester take place, with 70,000 protesters descending upon our city.

“Mr Evans makes no mention of the long hours worked by the men and women of GMP and the months of planning that went into the policing effort.

“Instead, he focuses in on what affects him.”

Insp Hanson highlighted the severe cuts GMP has suffered under the Tories - and told Mr Evans he is ‘no more important than everyone else in Manchester’.

“Yes, there were some protesters who overstepped the mark and arrests were made,” he added.

“GMP managed to do this against a backdrop of having lost nearly 2,000 police officers since 2010 – something he makes no mention of.

“Mr Evans has had a glimpse into the real world of what policing looks like in 2015, which is the fact that we do not have the police officers to provide a ‘ring of steel’ around him as we once did.

“Perhaps he would like to tell the communities of Greater Manchester which neighbourhood he thinks should have had the few police officers that are left taken from their streets to provide additional private security for him?

“Things got a bit uncomfortable and we dealt with it – get over yourself Mr Evans, you are no more important than everybody else in Manchester who gave up their police officers to keep you safe – you should be thanking the communities and police officers of Greater Manchester – not attacking them.”