A PLAN for a major shake-up of police forces that could see Kent merged with neighbouring authorities has come under fire from the county's MPs.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke faced a barrage of complaints from the Kent's Conservative MPs, led by former party leader Michael Howard, during a debate in the House of Commons.

Mr Howard, himself a former Home Secretary, warned that council taxpayers would pick up the multi-million pound bill for options that include amalgamating Kent with either Surrey or Sussex. Merger made no sense given the county’s unique position.

He said: “Kent Police is very conscious of their links with the agencies responsible for securing our borders and with their law enforcement counterparts across the channel. Those links and Kent’s links with the Metropolitan police are much closer than the links with Sussex and Surrey.”

He went on to say there was almost no support for merger among either the force or the public.

“What arguments could there possibly be for the view that Kent should merge with Sussex and Surrey? It certainly cannot be the cost...estimated at £58million.”

Canterbury MP Julian Brazier (Con) said merger would undermine Kent’s capacity to tackle strategic issues such as policing the port of Dover and the channel tunnel. He pressed the Home Secretary to accept the case for retaining Kent as a stand-alone force.

“Given that Kent meets the Government’s criterion on total manning, both uniformed officers and civilians, can we have an assurance that the wishes as expressed by its police authority and its county council to keep Kent as a police force will be upheld?” he asked.

In his reply, Mr Clarke said he accepted that Kent had a case to remain independent.

“The Government will consider all proposals when they come before us. We will take all points of view seriously into account.”

Thanet North MP Roger Gale renewed his attack on the speed with which the Government was acting.

“The Home Office is engaged in a profound re-organisation that will affect all our police forces and all our lives and to try to rush this through without a vote and to ask chief constables to deliver their responses to Home Office plans by December 23...is a disgrace.”