abatement
In reply to:
"Was it not the case that your pension was abated to keep your FTRS pay at no more than the previous rate for the rank? Earned £40k, new pension £10k, FTRS pay (Home Commitment) £40k-15% = £34k therefore pension limited to £6kbringing total pay back to £40k."
What you are describing is how abatement works but the reason for the abatement was that the new pensionable job was by virtue of the previous military service (ie. it was not subject to 'fair and open competition').