Police vow to fight proposed reforms

Police representatives said yesterday they would put fierce pressure on the Home Secretary to reject key parts of a radical reform programme amid growing anger against proposals to introduce compulsory redundancy in the police force.

The former rail regulator, Tom Winsor, unveiled his plans for the biggest shake-up in police pay and conditions for more than three decades on Thursday, which included plans to cut the starting pay of constables, raise the pension age to 60, require recruits to have higher educational standards and accelerate entry for talented outsiders.

The Police Federation said it would put pressure on the Government to reject some of the 121 recommendations in the 1,000-page report.

Sustained pressure, including a rally at Wembley Stadium involving thousands of officers, forced the Government to back down in the last major attempt to end the "jobs-for-life" culture in the service in 1993. Police do not have the right to strike.

Anger on social networks focused on the proposal that chief officers could be allowed to make some officers compulsorily redundant before 30 years of service. "People have been saying that if you're going to make us redundant, we should have industrial rights," said Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, which represents officers from lower ranks. "There's a lot of anger there. We will clearly react to this. We are hoping that she [the Home Secretary, Theresa May] understands what the principle means and does the right thing."

Jon Collins, deputy director of the thinktank the Police Foundation, said: "Redundancy has been seen as a line you don't cross."