ONE of Hampshire's former top police bosses was given £220,000 in taxpayers' money after just over a year in the job.

It has been revealed that Jenni Douglas-Todd was handed £220,411 after leaving her role as Chief Executive of Hampshire's Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

The figure included her salary and redundancy payments following her time at both the OPCC and the Police Authority it replaced.

The Taxpayers Alliance (TPA), which has researched the number of police staff and employees receiving packages of more than £100,000, described it as an "exorbitant deal" but PCC Simon Hayes has said it "was her entitlement".

The figures show that the £220,411 she received in 2013/14 included a £35,948 "compensation for loss of employment", £9,825 in pension contributions and £174,638 in "salary, fees and allowances".

That money includes her salary of £90,000 but also other money paid to her in a package after she left the OPCC, which was also due to her from her time as chief executive of the Police Authority.

Fifty two-year-old mum Mrs Douglas-Scott, who lives near Winchester, had worked in the Probation Service, Central Government and the Independent Police Complaints Commission before joining the Police Authority in 2009.

She worked there until November 2012, when it was replaced with the OPCC and her role was transferred to the new chief executive's position.

Her own on-line business profile says that she set up "new policing governance arrangements", supported the PCC in his role, established the new OPCC, "steered and signed collaborative working including signing a landmark contract with British Telecom" and commissioned an independent review of the police Estates Strategy which saw a £20m reduction in the force's spending.

However she left the position at the end of January 2014, with the PCC saying at the time "Jenni has decided it is time for her to move on and explore new challenges".

The Daily Echo was unable to contact Mrs Douglas-Todd who is now managing director of a company called Diversa Consultancy, which is registered to Harrow in Middlesex, and Investigating Committee Chair at the General Dental Council.

But the payout has been criticised, with TPA chief executive Jonathan Isaby saying: "When serious savings have to be made in the police force, serious questions have to be asked about pay packages well in excess of £200,000.

"Hampshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has shown such exorbitant deals are unnecessary by appointing a replacement for half the salary and others should look to do the same."

And Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith said: "This is why we need to end the culture of excessive payouts to already highly-paid public sector workers."

A spokesman for the OPCC said the figure was included in the statement of accounts for the : "The making of a payment to the previous Chief Executive at the OPCC is not news - it is clearly reported in the annual statement of accounts for financial year 2013-14, which were posted on the OPCC's website. since the summer of 2014.

The spokesman said that those figures had been scrutinised by internal and external auditors and that external auditors, Ernst and Young, had issued an unqualified audit opinion and unqualified value for money conclusion on the Police and Crime Commissioner's accounts.

The statement added: "The level of payment did not result in any diversion of resources from investment in policing - indeed the OPCC budget overall was underspent in 2013-14.

"Disclosing a greater level of detail about the circumstances of the payment is not appropriate due to the confidentiality of personal information."

Mr Hayes added: "It was her entitlement and the payments were scrutinised by the Police and Crime Panel and by external and internal audits at the time."

The PCC's annual statement of accounts shows Mr Hayes received total remuneration of £96,315, including an £85,000 salary, in both 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The TPA's figures show 16 staff and officers received remuneration, including salaries, expenses and pension contributions, of £100,000 or more and two packages of £150,000 or more.

One was Chief Constable Andy Marsh, who received £185,072 including a salary of £152,100, while former Deputy Chief Constable Craig Denholm, who retired last year, received £162,921