Police minister Tony McNulty tonight pledged that the pace of the mergers would slow down.

He spoke out as Cleveland Police Authority began legal action to prevent a forced merger with Durham and Northumbria.

Mr McNulty said: "I have already met with some chief constables and police authority chairs to listen to their concerns and will continue to do so.

"There are very real issues about timing, accountability, council tax and local accountability for police services that we will continue to discuss with local people and their representatives.

"Engaging further with the police, local authorities and the public may mean change will happen at a slower pace - but we are determined to get the process right and to protect our communities."

The Northern Echo revealed last week how the new Home Secretary had hinted that the merger programme would slow down.

Mr McNulty added: "We need a police service that has the ability to tackle serious crime and terrorist incidents while delivering responsive and accessible neighbourhood policing.

"The Inspectorate of Constabularys report into the structure of the police service found that some forces ability to deal with a terrorist or domestic extremist incident would be strained within a matter of hours.

"This is unacceptable and I am committed to restructuring the police service to ensure that forces throughout the country are equipped to cope with major incidents whilst providing dedicated local policing."