Northern officers reject pay offer

Police officers in Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly to reject a controversial new pay package, it was revealed today.

Members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland voted by 89.2% to 10.8% against the offer. More than 64% of the 7,000 officers voted in the ballot.

Jimmy Spratt, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, said the result was no surprise.

‘‘We warned the government that this package would not be accepted by officers.

‘‘We negotiated the package as far as we could but we have made it clear that we were not in agreement with its contents. It therefore came as no surprise to us that the membership have rejected it.’’

He said the vote provided a clear mandate which the Federation would take back to the government.