At last I have received a response to my letter to the Prime Minister: ‘From the Private Secretary Dear Mrs Hall Thank you for your letter to the Prime Minister of 12 May about the Police Widows’ Pension Campaign and for extending your warm congratulations on the Prime Minister’s return to Downing Street. As I am sure that you are aware on 18th March, the Chancellor announced that widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of police officers killed in the line of duty in England and Wales will no longer lose their survivors’ benefits if they remarry, form a civil partnership or cohabit. The rules will be changed to ensure that the spouses and civil partners of police officers killed on duty will no longer be faced with choosing between a new relationship and their pension entitlement. This change in policy will not apply to all survivors of those in the 1987 police pension scheme. Instead, recognising the high risk of harm that police officers face as an everyday part of their jobs, the policy applies only to deaths that have occurred on duty. Any pensions already ended before the implementation date of the changes will not be automatically reinstated. This is in keeping with the policy applied as part of changes to the Armed Forces announced last year. The current rules allow for the pension of a surviving spouse or civil partner to be reinstated if the new marriage, civil partnership or cohabitation ends. The Prime Minister believes wholeheartedly that your campaign has been conducted with dignity and integrity throughout. I know you have waited a long time for these changes to come about and I can assure you that the measures announced in the Budget on 18 March will be implemented in full. The Home Office will set out further details in due course. Yours sincerely Brendan Threlfall’ In my letter to the Prime Minister I had drawn his attention to the following article which appeared on MP Steve Brine’s website following George Osborne’s Budget announcement: Success on police widows campaign ‘Local MP Steve Brine has welcomed news that all police widows and widowers will now get their widowed pension provision for life, even if they remarry or live with a new partner. The Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP has been leading the campaign from within Parliament, and worked closely with colleagues including Police Minister Mike Penning to put right what Mr Brine has called a 'very clear wrong'. The MP is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mr Penning at the Home Office and picked up the issue after being contacted by a constituent who lost her husband on active service locally. In his Budget speech, delivered in the House of Commons last week, the Chancellor, George Osborne, confirmed that the rules would change, to the delight of Steve Brine and his colleagues, as well as vast numbers of police widows and widowers from across the country who have been in touch. The change also applies to widows, widowers and civil partners of firefighters in England. Steve Brine said; "I am thrilled at the news, and a big thank you to George Osborne for taking this step. When I raised it with him he really understood the cause and promised to put it right if he could. When we spoke immediately after the Budget last week I was able to thank him personally on behalf of so many who've campaigned for this change. "It has been quite a journey and I know police widows and widowers across the country, including right here in my own constituency will be thrilled." At the time this article appeared on his website Steve Brine surely must have known that its contents were untrue. Always anxious to give people the benefit of the doubt, I gave the PM and later the Policing Minister the opportunity to explain his error of judgement. They did not take advantage of that opportunity and no explanation has been forthcoming. This is a repeat of the kind of announcements made in November regarding armed forces widows – all did not mean all in November as armed forces widows that have remarried or have moved in with a partner did not have their pensions reinstated, and all did not mean all in March when this article appeared on Mr Brine’s website. Now that we have it confirmed in writing from the Prime Minister’s office that the changes announced in the budget are to be implemented - some important questions need to be asked on our behalf by our MPs – we would like answers to the following: Why in the run up to the general election did Steve Brine announce that as a result of a campaign led by him from within parliament - that all police widows and widowers will now get their pensions for life - when this is clearly not the case? The words of Policing Minister Mike Penning during the Adjournment debate on February 25th require close scrutiny: “I come to the subject in a personal way. In my constituency, PC Frank Mason, who was off duty, walking his dog and minding his own business, saw a bank robbery taking place. He intervened and was murdered. Frank, like all police officers, was a warranted officer. In other words, when he was off duty he was really still on duty—he could be called in and his warrant was with him all the time. That is where the difference is and why the Home Secretary and I describe the argument as so compelling……… Is an officer on duty only when they are on shift, or could it mean someone in a similar situation to Frank Mason, who was assisting the public when off duty? I am adamant that, if a scheme comes through and if we make the changes, there should be help in cases of the likes of Frank Mason’s—should his widow so wish…….” Having established in his own words that all police officers as warranted officers are always on duty - the Policing Minister then went on to say the following in complete contradiction of his words uttered just moments before: “If off-duty police officers were driving to work and were involved in a road traffic collision, I am afraid that I do not think that that would be a similar case, because they are not on duty….” I received word less than two weeks ago that Mr Penning was pleased that the Treasury has also accepted that they should look at pensions where a warranted officer has been on their way to and from work as being presumed killed while on duty. A constituent of Mr Cameron’s who is a police widow, and whose husband was killed returning home from work – has already received assurances from Mr Cameron’s constituency office that she will benefit from the changes. Can this be confirmed? Despite Mr Penning being adamant that she should, under the changes how can the widow of Frank Mason benefit when Frank was killed whilst out walking his dog? Another police widow recounted her conversation with Mr Penning immediately after the Adjournment Debate: “I gave him an outline of my case and he replied by saying that I would be ok. I assume because my late husband was advised to finish on ill health as a result of stress and five years on took his own life.” How does this lady benefit from the changes? Why did Richard Graham send out this press release the day after the budget announcement? City MP Richard Graham is delighted that the government has agreed to resolve an historical injustice to police widows and widowers “I am delighted for police widows and widowers!” said Gloucester MP Richard Graham, after the Chancellor announced in the budget yesterday changes for police widows and widowers subject to the police pension’s regulations 1987. Currently all lose their pension if they remarry or cohabit, or keep their pension if they stay single. From now on they will no longer be penalised. This means that the government has accepted the case made by the Gloucester MP in a Westminster Hall debate 3 weeks ago for the government to respond positively to former PC Colin John Hall’s widow Cathryn Hall’s petition. Richard said “the whole point of a long-term plan is that a stronger economy enables the government to improve people’s lives: and this righting of an historical injustice to about 900 police widows/widowers is a small but important example of social justice that we can afford. I am delighted for Cathryn, Sharon Jones, Julie Shadwick (Sharon and Julie are from Gloucestershire) and all the other widows and widowers affected”. Why was Mr Graham so delighted for us as Julie and Sharon will not benefit having remarried, and I will not benefit as I am living with my partner? All of these proclamations have the potential to mislead the public into believing that our campaign to achieve parity with RUC widows in Northern Ireland has been successful, and that there is no further need to sign our petition or write letters of support to their MPs. The distress caused by Steve Brine’s article is I am sure widespread among us – why would the politicians that so publically supported us before the general election and promised us so much, mislead us in such a cruel fashion? I think that whilst our campaign has been by the Prime Minister’s own admission “conducted with dignity and integrity throughout” the integrity of this government its Ministers and MPs needs to be called into question. Please write to your MP requesting that they pose the questions listed to the Prime Minister and the Home Office on your behalf. You can write to Mr Penning at this email address: mike@penning4hmel.com Here is the link to the article on Steve Brine’s website: http://www.stevebrine.com/westminster/westminster/success-on-police-widows-campaign/2416 This is the link to Richard Graham’s Press Release: http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk/gloucester-mp-richard-graham-is-delighted-that-the-government-has-agreed-to-resolve-an-historical-injustice-to-police-widows-and-widowers/ This is the link for the Adjournment Debate – scroll down to Column 126WH: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm150225/halltext/150225h0001.htm You are well aware of the drill by now – mark all letters as ‘Private and Confidential’ send copies of your letters and any replies received to me at this email address: CathrynHall@outlook.com We will continue to campaign in dignified fashion - we fight on. Cathryn