"There is total confusion at the heart of Government over this botched attempt to ram through regionalisation of the police. In the space of an hour, the Prime Minister said one thing, the Home Secretary another and the Police Minister yet another. It seems the Government is groping for a face-saving formula before it announces a formal U-turn to scrap police mergers.
Ministers are now asking forces to collaborate more closely. West Mercia has an excellent track record at co-operating with other forces on level 2 protective services and the most serious incidents nationwide, such as the London bombings a year ago when officers from West Mercia were among the first to enter the Underground to commence the detailed investigation.
If the Government are now scrapping police force mergers, then this is very good news for the West Mercia force and residents of Shropshire. The police did not want it, the public did not want it, and parish and other councils did not want it.
I am backing calls for the Home Secretary to come to the House of Commons to explain exactly what is going on and what he now expects Chief Constables to do. This whole exercise has wasted a great deal of senior officer time. They now need to focus on fighting crime, not responding to yet another ill-considered Home Office diktat."
