The chief constable of Nottinghamshire has retracted his comments about the state of his force.

Steve Green said yesterday that he was wrong to suggest recently that his officers were being overwhelmed and were unable to cope with the scale of violent crime.

Speaking during an emergency meeting of the Nottinghamshire police authority, Green said he would resist pressure to force him to stand down.

"Is it true that the force is overwhelmed? Absolutely not. In spite of all that has been said, let us not lose sight of the fact that we are coping," he said.

"It seems amazing that we are sat here having this debate about crime being allegedly out of control when it has actually fallen by 11 per cent in the past 12 months - nearly 18,000 fewer victims.

"Whatever the reason for my conducting the interview [with The Sunday Telegraph], I must concede that the interview itself was not my finest hour.

"When I speak publicly, I always try to 'tell it straight'. You may take the view that, on this occasion, I should have foreseen the consequences of what I said.

"With hindsight, I was wrong to accept the word 'crisis' during the interview but, nevertheless, investigating murders is a major challenge to us and we should not underestimate that challenge."