The Bill is getting a bit hot under its not inconsiderable collar this week following news that the Home Office is considering placing restrictions on the employment choices of police officers after they leave the force. The proposals were described variously as “outrageous”, “ridiculous” and “nonsense”.

The Police Federation national Vice-Chairman Steve White was quoted in the online newsletter Police Oracle as saying: “It is getting to the point where you are treating police officers like second-class citizens. They already undertake a lot of restrictions on their private lives – as do members of their families. While you are a serving officer this is understandable.

“But when you retire or resign from the service, to have formal restrictions placed on you is frankly outrageous.”

Mark Smith, chairman of Essex Police Federation, said: “I think the government need to stop interfering with people’s private lives.”

After all, that’s his job, isn’t it?

• One senior copper who is probably looking up the list of jobs deemed incompatible with senior public office is Cumbria’s ‘temporary’ Chief Constable Stuart Hyde, who has been ‘re-suspended’ by the Police and Crime Commissioner after having his original suspension lifted following an investigation which found he had not committed any misconduct.

The funniest thing about this story is that Mr Hyde’s tenure as ‘temporary’ Chief Constable ends on 31 August, after which he would be responsible to an – as yet unappointed – new Chief Constable rather than the PCC, whose jurisdiction over him would come to an end. In the meantime his role is being undertaken by a Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, as an ‘acting’ Chief Constable.

Mr Hyde has been accused of using his force credit card to make personal purchases, which he had then reimbursed. Sounds a bit like leaving an IOU in the till, I suppose – we’ve all done it. But why would anyone need a force credit card, anyway? That’s what I want to know.

There are, of course, lots of acceptable jobs for ex-police officers. Take Latin teacher, for example: “Now children, I want you to decline the third declension feminine noun plebs.”

• Talking of bills, Chris Grayling is reported to have adopted the Margaret Thatcher approach to delaying implementation of his legal aid cuts, despite warnings from some quarters that they might be actually unlawful, as well as downright wicked. The Minister of Injustice is not for turning on the issue, apparently.

Responses on the Law Society Gazette website were predictable, although current. They offer the suggestions that the money Grayling is desperate to save will presumable be used to finance cruise missiles to lob at Syria or the escalating cost of the unwanted HS2 project.

Chris Stokes