Greater Manchester Police retirement plan rejected

A proposal to force police officers in Greater Manchester to retire after 30 years has been rejected for a second time.

Greater Manchester Police Authority voted unanimously against the proposal which would guarantee savings of £1.6m.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said there was "no firm recommendation" of the plan as he presented it to members.

Chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Federation Chris Burrows said "common sense prevailed".

Mr Burrows said he was delighted members voted against making officers who have served for 30 years retire.

He said: "It leaves more skilled officers available to serve the public of Greater Manchester."

He added the savings would not take into account the cost of retraining officers to replace very specialised staff forced to retire.

Paul Murphy, chairman of the authority, said: "This has been a challenging issue.

"We have a responsibility to deliver a balanced budget, which means finding savings of £134m over the next four years.

"Some difficult decisions have and will be made and we don't underestimate the impact this has on staff and officers."