Advert showing shadow of a man looming over girl cowering in a corner is irresponsible, says Home Office

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

The Home Office has condemned as "irresponsible" an anti-cuts ad campaign by police officers' representatives that depicts a young girl being abused.

The advert for the Police Federation shows a girl cowering in a corner as the shadow of a man looms over her. The black-and-white image is accompanied by the slogan: "Consequences of 20% cuts to policing? Cuts are criminal."

The Police Federation said the latest in its series of shocking campaign images – a previous ad showed a hooded figure pointing a gun – was designed to illustrate how the coalition government's 20% cut to police forces over four years could harm child protection work.

The Home Office said: "It is irresponsible to play on people's fears. The police budget settlement is tough but fair and, alongside the government's police reforms, will leave the force more than capable of fighting and cutting crime."

Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon, said the image was "highly irresponsible and incredibly offensive".

But Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "It's not dissimilar to child protection agency images on TV. It's important people realise the reality of massive 20% cuts. Support functions like child protection could be affected. The most vulnerable people in society tend to be hit."

The advert ran for the first time in the free Metro newspaper last Friday, and the image is expected to be used on posters and leaflets.

The Police Federation is demanding an independent inquiry into the future of the police service amid anger over tens of thousands of job losses due to funding cuts, and proposed radical changes to pensions, pay and conditions.

Coalition ministers insist 20% cuts can be achieved by England and Wales's 43 police forces through efficiency savings in back-office functions, without harming frontline policing. A total of 28,000 posts are expected to be lost, including an estimated 12,000 police officers and 16,000 civilian staff.

They include positions lost through a recruitment freeze and experienced officers being forced to retire after 30 years' service under a previously little-used regulation.