Today the Argus asks Home Sec-retary Charles Clarke a list of ten questions about why he wants to merge Gwent Police, one of the best performing forces in the country.

The Argus is opposed to Mr Clarke's proposals, which could see Gwent Police disappear in radical plans to shake up Wales and England's 43 forces.

A cross-party band of politicians, including Newport West's Labour MP Paul Flynn, Conservative MP and AM David Davies, Plaid Cymru AM for South East Wales Jocelyn Davies and Liberal Democrat AM for South East Wales Mike German, have all expressed concerns over the merger plans.

Some fear a larger force will be more unwieldy and less locally accountable.

The Home Secretary wants to press ahead with larger forces because he believes they will be more sophisticated and better equipped to combat 21st-century crime like terrorism and organised crime.

But Gwent Police, which currently has the second best detection rate in Wales and England, has proved it can cope with large-scale security operations.

Last month it led a hugely successful operation involving 1,500 officers from 23 different forces when Newport's Celtic Manor hosted an EU foreign ministers' summit. And Gwent has enjoyed high-profile successes working with other police forces in the war against drug barons.

Operation Corolla smashed a Jamaican Yardie gang who tried to set up a new 'turf' in Newport in 2002 and a year later Operation Othello destroyed a gang planning to saturate the streets of South Wales with £1m of cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis.

Also in 2003, working with HM Customs and Excise, Gwent Police armed officers stormed a Newport warehouse and arrested two men who were later each jailed for 20 years for importing £8.5m of cocaine through the city's docks.

* Our questions are: 1. Why interfere with a force like Gwent Police, which is working so well and is one of the best?

2 Wales is different from England so why impose an English solution on us?

3 Is one of the intentions of the reforms to make the police force more accountable to the public, and, if so, how will this happen in a larger police force?

4 What will the cost of the reorganisation be in Gwent, Wales and for the whole country?

5 The three-month timetable set for forces to respond to the proposed mergers by drawing up plans is surely unrealistic. How can you conduct such a widespread review in such a short space of time?

6 A lot of crime in Wales comes from across the border along east to west lines. How will any proposals to amalgamate forces along north to south lines solve any issues in Wales?

7 What will be the advantages of proposed mergers in Wales?

8 Big isn't always beautiful. Smaller forces like Gwent and Dyfed Powys Police currently have a better record of detecting crime than any larger force, so how can you justify abolishing good practice?

9 In any merger there is a tendency for confusion and organisations can initially take several steps backwards. Is that a step you can afford to take with an issue as serious as policing?

10 How will the views of frontline police officers in Gwent be taken into account?

* The Argus asked Gwent politicians and public figures the answers they would like from Mr Clarke on his proposed merger plans.

Newport West MP Paul Flynn said: "It is an incurable trait in politicians to change everything - it gives them enormous gratification.

"But Welsh forces have been among the best performing forces over the last ten years or so. Any upheaval is going to create turmoil - why is Charles Clarke trying to fix something that is not broken?

"These reforms may make sense in huge English cities like Leeds or Manchester but Wales is different."

Chairman of Gwent Police Authority Geraint Price-Thomas is concerned over the three-month timetable Mr Clarke has set forces to respond to the proposed mergers.

The home secretary has asked the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to draw up plans for the shake-up by the end of the year.

Mr Price-Thomas said: "Mr Clarke has set a very challenging timetable and we do need more time if we are going down the road to structural change.

"The four Welsh forces provide an excellent service which stand up under scrutiny with any other force."

Gwent Police Authority member, Torfaen councillor and JP Gwilliam S Evans asks if "big really is beautiful".

He said: "Charles Clarke is hell-bent on creating this big force and I do understand where is he coming from because we do need to be ready to deal with the thugs of this world, the terrorists.

"But as you know, with big empires, sometimes they last and sometimes they fall."

Gwent Police Authority member and Caerphilly councillor Colin Mann asks Mr Clarke to justify "destroying smaller areas which have a better detection rate that larger forces. Whenever you reorganise, and a good example of this is with councils, you lose experience and there is confusion.

"You go several steps back and it takes a long time to recover that initial loss. Can you afford that with policing?"