Top Irish American cop Bill Bratton was the choice of British Prime Minister David Cameron to be Britain’s top cop and head of Scotland Yard. However, Cameron’s effort to recruit Bratton, 64, former chief in New York and Los Angeles, was blocked by his Home Secretary, who has demanded a British cop get the No. 1 job.

Bratton, married four times, whose strong Irish roots are from the Donegal area near the Irish border, revealed last night that he would have accepted the post if it had been offered and admitted he had been approached.

He said he would have "considered it an honor" to have been given the opportunity to apply for the post. He had previously accepted an honorary “Commander of the British Empire” title from the queen.

The shock Cameron move came after the resignation last month of Sir Paul Stephenson, the head of Scotland Yard, after he admitted too close a relationship with key figures in the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Bratton has a stellar reputation as a crime fighter and is generally credited with a major role in ending New York’s out of control violence with his zero tolerance attitude.

Cameron is said to have discussed the job with Bratton informally, according to the Daily Telegraph.

An Irish American cop heading the British police would have been an incredible scenario for many in England.

To block him, the Home Secretary Theresa May immediately published a job advertisement stating that “applicants must be British citizens."

The Association of Chief Police Officers described the notion of foreign officers heading up British forces as “stupid."

Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “The notion that you can ship someone in from another country to run a police force in a different environment and a different culture is quite simply stupid.”

Orde, formerly Northern Ireland’s top cop, was also said to be a strong contender for the job.