Mr Henderson said police dealt with an average of 107 mental health incidents a day and estimated more than 100,000 hours of police time were spent on them each year.

This amounted to around £4m a year, he told MPs.

“This is not acceptable for citizens who are in a health crisis.”

“I don’t think anyone thinks that having a police officer with his gun, body armor and handcuffs should constitute mental health support for someone in a health crisis for significant periods of time.”

Mr Henderson said the high volume of calls meant less policing at a time of significant financial pressure and the smallest number of officers since the PSNI was established.

“It seems that the threats to our community are becoming more and more serious: four women murdered in six weeks since August by men, the race riots of the summer, the horrible catfish affair (Alexander) McCartney, the continuation of the shadows of paramilitarism and the criminal exploitation of young people.

“That’s the job of the police, to protect our communities from harm.”