Responding to reports that Neil Newberry, a senior officer at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, will join Chief Fire Officer, Graham Stagg in being allowed to retire and then claim his pension lump sum before returning to work a few weeks’ later, Fire Brigades Union Cambridgeshire Secretary, Cameron Matthews, said: “Cambridgeshire firefighters are livid with these revelations and the lack of accountability and transparency on show.
“While we’re fighting tooth and nail to protect our pensions, jobs and public safety, the fire authority is awarding such astronomical funds to senior staff in Cambridgeshire.
“How can we believe government claims the pot is empty when such high sums can be found for senior staff?”
