Police Widows Put On the Pressure
Widows of police officers in England are set to visit Downing Street to campaign against pension rules they say force some of them into “a life of solitude.”
Under current rules in England and Wales, the pensions of thousands of police officers would be cancelled if they died and their spouse later remarried or moved in with a new partner.
According to UK newspaper The Guardian, more than 110,000 people have signed a petition on change.org calling for lifelong pensions for police widows and widowers, including those whose partners died off duty or after retiring.
The widows who started the petition will hand it in at Downing Street on Monday—a week after the death of PC David Phillips, who was run over by a pick-up truck in Wallasey, Merseyside.
Denis Gunn, president of the charity Care of Police Survivors, whose son, PC Richard Gunn, died when his patrol car crashed into a van in March 2004, said the hit-and-run death had underlined the need to support families blighted by such tragedies.
He said: “In the UK we live in relative safety and security. That is provided by the bravery of men and women who put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.
“The tragic events of last weekend on Merseyside highlight not only the bravery of all those police officers who protect us but also the requirement for us to support their families if the worst happens.”