The decision to continue rolling out Covid-19 vaccines by age without offering priority jabs to police officers is "a stab in the back" by Government, according to the Staffordshire Police Federation chair.

It comes following the announcement that, on completion of the first phase of the vaccination programme, which will see over 50s offered the jab, the second phase of the vaccine rollout will involve three stages covering those aged 40 to 49, 30 to 39 and 18 to 29.

The age-based roll-out programme means that no group of workers, such as police officers or teachers, will be prioritised.

Reacting to the announcement, Staffordshire Police Federation chair Phil Jones said: "Our Government has a moral duty to protect police officers. But once again it has turned its back on them and the other emergency workers who have been on the frontline of the nation's response to the pandemic for almost a year.

"This is another stab in the back, another failure by ministers to show their support when they had the opportunity.

"Officers have been praised for working hard to continue to provide a service under extreme circumstances and protect communities. Even the Home Secretary said she believed officers should be prioritised for the vaccine. But once again it was purely lip service with no action.

"The Police Federation believes officers should be prioritised because their unique role means they often are unable to socially distance from the people they deal with on a daily basis. They can't always protect themselves as they would want to.

"The Government could help protect them by offering some kind of priority to the vaccine in the second roll-out. We understand and accept that the most vulnerable groups were the highest priority and those groups have now been vaccinated.

"Yet our officers, along with teachers and other groups of workers, are being overlooked. I can't make sense of it."

National Federation chair John Apter called the decision "a deep and damaging betrayal that will not be forgotten".

He added: "Together with others across policing, we have never said police officers should jump the queue but should be prioritised.

"It's right that the most vulnerable and health and care workers were vaccinated but what about police officers who cannot mitigate against the risks of contracting and spreading this deadly virus? Yet the calls to prioritise policing have been ignored.

"The very nature of policing is unpredictable and means my colleagues often cannot socially distance. They are going into people's homes, going into hospitals, and having to get up close and personal when helping people or making an arrest."

He continued: "Giving police officers the vaccine would not only protect them and their families but also help prevent the spread of this virus.

"We are sick of warm words and no action by our political leaders who have demanded so much from policing during this pandemic. We will now explore every possible avenue open to us to protect our members from this deadly virus and this complacent Government."