Lawyer Nick Freeman, who offered his services to South Yorkshire Chief Constable Med Hughes for free, said: “Unfortunately I didn’t have an opportunity of seeing the evidence, but unsurprisingly Mr Hughes accepted his culpability and has felt the heavy hand of the law.

“The sentence is certainly at the top end of the scale, but then that’s hardly surprising considering all the circumstances.

“I did offer to provide my services to Mr Hughes for free of charge, because I felt this would have been particularly useful for a police officer in his position. Regrettably he declined to accept the offer and I feel it was an opportunity lost.”