Lib Dems welcome scrapping of police merger

5.05.27pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Jul 2006

Cumbria and Lancashire police recently withdrew from the merger

Plans to merge police forces around the country have been officially abandoned in the face of major opposition. Chief commissioners and other members of the police force were joined in their campaign opposing the merger by the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Affairs spokesperson, Nick Clegg, who branded the plans "rushed" and "ill thought-out".

Tony Woods, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Northampton Borough Council welcomed the news, saying: "We opposed the merger from the very beginning on the grounds that it would cost millions more to the council taxpayer who in turn would end up with a far less accountable police force. Smaller forces should be provided with extra resources to deal with complex cases, but these should be provided nationally.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Northampton North, Andrew Simpson said: "The government based their case for these mergers on a need to deal with terrorism, drugs and organised crime. The fact they have now backed down begs the question of whether merging the forces was ever necessary to do this and calls into question the judgement of Tony Blair and his cabinet."

To find out about Lib Dem policy on crime and policing, go to: http://www.libdems.org.uk/justice/