The Chairman of the UK Independence Party, Jeffrey Titford MEP, has reacted angrily to the Government’s plans for regionalisation of police forces in Britain.
Mr Titford said: "The pace with which these proposals are being forced through is a disgrace. We are faced with the most fundamental restructuring of British policing for 170 years and the Government is expecting the whole thing to be done and dusted in twelve weeks!
"The Home Secretary’s new proposals did not even surface until the 16th September but Chief Constables are being expected to come up with plans for mass mergers with other forces by 28th November and the entire plan has to be agreed before Christmas. I am now being approached by Chief Constables from my Eastern Counties Constituency for my views on a series of merger options which are all totally unacceptable. This is not consultation but Government by diktat.
"The haste with which this is being done is very suspicious. I suspect that the Government is trying to minimise debate in order to disguise the fact that this vandalising of British policing is a part of the continued break-up of our country into euro-regions. The next stage, according to recently leaked Government papers, is the abolition of the Shire counties. We are facing nothing less than a revolution both in local policing and local government which is being forced through for political reasons and certainly not for the benefit of the British people.
"None of this has an electoral mandate. The Government is behaving like a dictatorship and I will vigorously oppose these appalling plans which will be so damaging to the Country".
