Officers can quit Northern Ireland's full-time reserve force with redundancy
packages worth up to stg£100,000, it was revealed tonight.
As Chief Constable Hugh Orde prepared to make a critical decision on the future of 1,500 men and women, details emerged of the deal which has been accepted by union officials representing the rank-and-file.
The total pay-off is expected to cost the British government up to £100 million.
Mr Orde is holding another meeting with his senior command tonight amid demands on Prime Minister Tony Blair not to slash numbers.
It is believed the Chief Constable will retain more than half the reservists, despite fierce pressure from republicans and nationalists to axe the force completely.
Police Federation General Secretary Terry Spence said: "This is the best possible deal we could get for our members under the circumstances.
"It was a fight tooth and nail right down to the last penny."
Although the Patten blueprint for transforming the force recommended the full-time reserve should be phased out, unionists have waged an intense campaign to save those under threat.
With dissident republican terrorists launching a new gun attack on a police station in Derry, Democratic Unionist leader Dr Ian Paisley telephoned Mr Blair to warn him it would be a huge mistake to let too many officers go amid current crime levels.
He said: "I told the Prime Minister that he has only one option to keep in place as many officers as are available to do the job.
"No right-thinking person could contemplate getting rid of up to 1,500 officers at a time when all these problems are obvious for all to see.
"I believe that my words will have some effect on the thinking of the government as I speak for the majority of people in Northern Ireland."
PA