Open rebellion over plans to merge police forces in North

The Association of Police Authorities (APA), which represents police authorities in England and Wales, warned that many will not meet a Home Office deadline of December 23 for final merger proposals to be submitted.

It is making a series of demands of Home Secretary Charles Clarke amid fears that taxpayers are set to pick up the tab for the huge bill likely to be incurred as a result of mergers.

Estimates have put the cost of merging the three police forces in the North-East - Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria - at £30m to £50m. Last night, Councillor Dave McLuckie, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, said the Home Office's timetable for mergers was in complete disarray.

He said: "The Home Office will have to go back to the drawing board and recognise that the way in which it has conducted the review of police structures so far has been little short of a shambles."

The APA, which represents all police authorities in England and Wales, has already sought assurances from the Home Office over the costs of mergers.

But it was told that no extra funds would be available and that authorities should make business cases for borrowing money where necessary.

While some authorities will recover costs from making efficiencies and from the sale of land and buildings, this will not be enough to meet the expected bill from the mergers, and any borrowing could inevitably lead to huge rises in tax bills.

Coun Jane Kenyon, chairwoman of North Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "There would be an extreme reaction from our local communities if we said to them that they are going to have to stump up the costs of any restructuring."

The APA said it wanted all costs to be met by the Government and called for a debate in the House of Commons on the restructuring.

A Home Office spokesman said: "As far as we are concerned, at this stage the timetable for mergers remains in place, but no final decisions have yet been made."