Ian Hopkins was paid £217,000 in 'termination benefits' on top of his wages when he was forced out as chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, accounts show.
It means his total remuneration for that year topped £377,000 when his salary of £160,000 is added despite leading what was branded at the time as a failing police force.
Mr Hopkins was ordered by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to leave his role as chief constable of GMP in December 2020 after a damning police inspectorate report revealed the force had failed to record an estimated 80,000 crimes in one year, plunging GMP into special measures where it remains today.
The mayor's office said Mr Hopkins was paid 'a ccording to his contractual terms and nothing more'.
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GMP's latest published unaudited accounts, signed off on July 29, reveal the salaries of the force's highest earners in the year to March 2022, including Mr Hopkin's successor Stephen Watson who was paid £175,000. He was installed in late May.
The accounts show nine different assistant chief constables on the payroll during the year, a much higher number than usual as the new chief brought in new faces and others left. The tax-payer was also effectively paying for two chief constables until Mr Watson was installed, as deputy chief constable Ian Pilling stepped in to the top job while a successor was sought.
Six people earned in excess of £100,000 during the year to March, but Chief Constable Watson was nowhere near being the highest earner: the accounts show that accolade went to Assistant Chief Officer Chris Kinsella, a former director of automotive industry multinational TI Automotive, who was appointed as a temporary consultant in charge of human resources in May 2021.
In the eleven months he was working for the force during 2021/22, Mr Kinsella was paid £298,000 in wages plus another £16,000 in expenses, according to the accounts. That represents a remuneration package totalling £314,000, almost double the chief constable's stipend.
Mr Kinsella is now GMP's chief financial officer as well as well as chief resources officer.
The same accounts also include, for comparison purposes, the salaries of the force's top earners in the previous year. The table reveals Mr Hopkins was paid £160,000 in wages plus £217,000 in 'termination benefits' in the year to March 2021. In all, seven people were paid in excess of £100,000 and Mr Hopkins was the top earner.
The mayor's office point out that Mr Hopkins' final remuneration package has previously been published in Greater Manchester Combined Authority's annual accounts and also in previous GMP accounts.
A spokesperson said: "The former Chief Constable was paid according to his contractual terms and nothing more. The full amount has been reported in the GMCA audited group accounts here and GMP audited accounts here, both published in November 2021. The payments are made up of 18 months of salary and outstanding annual leave from April 2020-Oct 2021."
Mr Hopkins left GMP long before the expiry of his contract in October 2021.
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