The recruitment of police officers will not be slowed until there is clear evidence of an increase in "operational capacity" in the force, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has told MSPs.

Police Scotland outlined plans in February to cut officer numbers by 400 as part of its 10-year policing plan.

Chief Constable Phil Gormley said recruitment levels would begin to slow between 2018 and 2020 while more specialist civilian staff in areas such as cyber crime will be recruited.

He also pledged better use of technology, more effective deployment and releasing officers from back office and corporate roles.

In a statement at Holyrood, Michael Matheson said the Policing 2026 programme was "ambitious and challenging", with measures to counter the threat of cyber-crime and a greater emphasis on addressing vulnerability and mental health issues.

He said: "The Chief Constable has assured me that operational policing capacity will be increased and I have made it clear that officer recruitment should not be slowed until clear independent evidence is provided to both the public and the Parliament that this increase has been delivered.

"Officer numbers will remain well above the number we inherited in 2007.

"The Scottish Government has also protected Police Scotland's resource budget for each year of this Parliament - delivering a £100 million boost by 2021 - and provided an enhanced £61 million reform budget for 2017/18 to support the transformational change outlined in Policing 2026."

Mr Matheson said he expected Police Scotland and its oversight body the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to develop "robust implementation and financial plans" over the coming months.

Labour's Claire Baker questioned how the increase in operational capacity could be funded.

"Many of the difficulties experienced by Police Scotland sit at the door of an SNP government that ties itself to a policy of extra police officers, a policy that it doesn't properly fund, which has led to support staff being cut and officers backfilling roles," she said.

"The Cabinet Secretary says no decision will be taken regarding recruitment unless there is a planned increase in operational policing capacity.

"Considering the financial difficulties that are facing the police, how does he expect this to be possible?"

Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell said recorded crime figures were not an accurate measure of demand on the force.

She asked: "What is the Cabinet Secretary doing to ensure more accurate recording of demands on police time and how can the level of police numbers required to cope with the demand be decided without this accurate data?"

Mr Matheson said the strategy was designed to reflect the fact 80% of police calls do not relate to a crime.

Meanwhile, increased funding in the police reform budget and the releasing of capacity "held up in the corporate side of organisation" would be used to increase operational capacity, he added.