Jon Boutcher told MPs on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that lawyers had received almost £18m – more than double the sum given to victims who brought the claims.

Mr Boutcher said legacy was “a green field site for lawyers” due to “an attritional approach by all the security agencies around information disclosure”.

He also said that the PSNI lacked funding for legacy issues and the costs would have covered recruitment of new officers. The PSNI’s costs refer not just to legal cases but also its running of the Legacy Investigations Branch (LIB).

“We are spending just over £20m a year. That would be about 400 police officers,” Mr Boutcher said.

“But we’ve been left with this millstone, this anchor, that holds the PSNI back. It is a considerable burden on us.”

The head of its LIB, detective chief superintendent Claire McGuigan, said: “We don’t have anywhere near the resources to deal with those, nor the money to settle them. We’re in a position that is very, very difficult and it doesn’t build trust in the community because it looks like we are stalling.”

Former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, told the committee that it was unreasonable to expect the PSNI to use “today’s budget to fund yesterday’s cases”.

“The government really need to be ready to set aside a specific budget for these matters,” she said.