Her appearance in front of 1,000 delegates at the Police Federation's annual conference in Bournemouth comes the day after officers voted to lobby for the right to strike.

They are expected to hold Ms Smith responsible for the prospect of the first police strike for 90 years.

The Police Federation said 86% of its members want to lobby for the same industrial rights as other workers if the Government is not bound to honour arbitrated pay deals. Federation chairman Jan Berry said of Ms Smith's appearance: "Despite our anger, our frustration and our sense of betrayal we will remain professional and courteous yet robust. We will be polite but poignant."

She added that the results of the Ipsos Mori poll were a "wake-up call for the Government".

Mrs Berry, who steps down on Thursday after six years in the job, added that it would be for the federation's next set of officials to decide the next steps.

Turnout in England and Wales was 60,600 votes, or 43%. A separate, informal survey of 9,000 members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland found 90% were in favour of full industrial rights.

More than 20,000 officers marched on Westminster in January over Ms Smith's decision to introduce a 2.5% pay rise in stages, effectively reducing the overall award to 1.9%.

The police last went on strike in 1918 and 1919 in Liverpool and London, leading to the Government banning officers from taking industrial action or belonging to a trade union.

Chairman of the federation's sergeants committee, Paul McKeever, has accused Ms Smith of being "home secretary in name only" and a "conduit for Gordon Brown's centrally-controlled diktats".