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I wouldn't know this bike cop but if he's MetPol SEG, Special Escort Group, then he's quite likely a very skilled rider and possibly an authorised firearms officer. In which case he's doing annual AFO fitness tests too so not a doddery old fucker. I've been involved in similar escorts and chases and the public usually see the first plod vehicle but don't expect a second or third. It's a high risk job for all concerned but it does often beg the question why all that just to cut a ribbon on a shopping centre?
When the non-perspiring one was trade envoy and was going somewhere in any official capacity he went with a posse of SEG. In the good old days of roadside bombs and mortars you needed to get through pinch points quickly but I'd say they need to complete another risk assessment as to the safety of escorts in built up areas. They don't seem necessary nowadays.

I’m more surprised that someone is employed as on officer by mps at 65+ than the fitness element.
The other thing for me would be fitness testing is not the same as reaction testing which is more relevant to biking / fast car work.
Yes it’s always the second car they step out / pull out in front of.

This is what happens when a party has been completely captured by lobbyists and people who believe in nothing.

What they listen to the climate change committee recommendations?

I'm a special escort group fanboi. Spent time being being taught to ride as a group escort.

Peds are fucking lemmings, have seen Peds run across a junction in to a motor bike holding the junction.

Also a few times, doing silly speeds on the west way A40 elevated section, with cars under taking and overtaking bikes with flashing blue lights.

They are assessed regularly, and they are the highest skilled riders. To be a bike cop you have to go through a lot of the training from car, pursuit and then to bikes. These aren't your regular plod drivers either.

Also went on track days with them, they taught me a lot of what I know about riding and driving.

They are assessed regularly, and they are the highest skilled riders

They ride around in a big group, at 10 mph on a bmw, blowing whistles at each other, they do look nice in convoy though. :)

There used to be a retirement ceiling of 55 years, for constables and sergeants, which also would likely coincide with 30 yrs service and the end of the pension, with lump sum. Senior ranks could always retire later. Then they withdrew the 55 yr age limit and made all new recruits buy their own pensions. Then the career cop was not handcuffed to the job and could take his measley private pension to any new job but it also meant old cops could carry on, theoretically until they dropped of old age. If you're fit for the role, like SEG or firearms then you have 67 yr old men tooling around on blues and twos.

Peds are fucking lemmings, have seen Peds run across a junction in to a motor bike holding the junction.

Good. All motorists, even cops, are only there with a license. Pedestrians have an absolute right to use the road.

(Excluding motorways and a few other special roads)

A good cop, go to 2.19

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0023gqx?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

BITD police retired after 30 years on 2/3 rd salary. My NHS pension is 1/2 salary after 40 years.

Both have changed to career average but both still defined benefit not private. Police is about 54% salary as a pension after 30 years service.

Rachel Reeves has both these pensions in her sights as she wants to cut the cost of public service pensions....

What is this "pension" thing you speak of?

It's a tough challenge for any government. Historically, public sector workers have accepted, broadly, slightly lower pay because the pension was better than most private sector pensions. Austerity has set that back as public sector workers are now much worse of because of inflation over the past 14 years. Is a good pension as attractive if you're relying on food banks to get you through each month? I'd argue it wasn't.

I think you could make a strong case for better wages now with a reduced pension later, and introduce a contributory one where the government puts in a decent percentage of salary each month (my private sector employer contributes 7% of my salary to a pension each month, so making that 10 or 12% would be generous). The private sector has basically closed all final salary schemes so it seems fair to do something similar for public sector workers, providing you up their wages now.

It would help the government finances in the long term, so therefore is incredibly unlikely to happen.

The private sector has basically closed all final salary schemes so it seems fair to do something similar for public sector workers

aka race to the bottom.

fair points though re balance between wages and pensions.

The private sector has basically closed all final salary schemes so it seems fair to do something similar for public sector workers

When the private sector does something awful we should legislate to stop them. Shifting the risk and responsibility from a few authorities to millions of mostly disinterested and often financially illiterate individuals is the wrong thing to do.

As Tony the tiger says "They're great!" I took mine in 2016.

Why is it awful? It kind of made sense when people would work for the same company for most of their career, but nowadays, when the labour market is much more dynamic and people are living for longer, it makes sense to share that responsibility between companies, who have to offer all permanent employees access to a pension scheme and contribute to it, and individuals.

Financial literacy can be eradicated if we taught kids sensible things like personal finance at school.

To be a pedant, most car have passed the very bare minimum to be on the road.

Pedestrian are fucking terrible at looking where they are going or any spacial awareness. Look what happens in supermarkets.

Why is it awful?

Because you end up with half a dozen pensions in private pension companies that gently hike up the fees and get rich while people don't contribute nearly enough anyway.

The government automatic minimums are ridiculously small. I might feel a bit differently if they had been set around the cost of something like an old police pension which is probably 20%+

Financial literacy can be eradicated if we taught kids sensible things like personal finance at school.

They tried some of that when I was in school and yet my sister is a complete muppet with money. A professional pension manager is a better option for more than half IMHO.

Financial literacy can be eradicated if we taught kids sensible things like

Anarchism.

I’m ambiguous about DB pensions - great for those who have them (the oldest workers, and retirees), very bad news for those who don’t (younger workers) as their T&C’s suffer in order to pay for their older colleagues’ benefits.

Nothing wrong with DC pensions, as long as the employer contributes a realistic amount. The private sector’s standard matched 6% (if you’re lucky) is nowhere near realistic. 10-12% is more like it.

I have a final salary pension for a job that I had for 14 months, 22 years ago. It's on course to pay me approximately 1100 per annum when I retire.

That'll pay for cycling consumables.

Also the irony of pensions leading to job losses as the stock must go up (which cost me my own job indirectly lolsad)/ still not possible to avoid fossil fuel corps in most schemes.

FFS. And I can't avoid that unless I want to do my own pension funds picks. No time or knowledge ATM.

And a lot of private sector workers just don't earn enough to really contribute to their pension :(

Gerald Simpson gets blue plaque.

https://ilovemanchester.com/a-guy-called-gerald-voodoo-ray

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3wp46l3gv4o

Pretty grim reading in more local news. (Especially, having experienced it first-hand how easy it is to mislead the inspectors)

The BBC's investigation revealed that the London Borough of Waltham Forest has a serious food hygiene problem.

But pretty much just Leyton.