A GWENT council leader is accusing Home Secretary Charles Clarke of "attempting to bully and perhaps bribe police authorities" over force merger plans.

Blaenau Gwent county borough council leader John Hopkins wrote to Mr Clarke, opposing the proposed merger of police forces to form an all-Wales Force. The Argus is campaigning to save Gwent Police from a merger, and the plans have drawn strong opposition from local people and politicians.

In his letter, Councillor Hopkins complained that he felt local authorities and the community were being forced to "accept changes at a stroke of a pen".

"I oppose the proposed changes," he wrote. He also said he does not want to see the costs of setting up and transferring to an all-Wales force being paid for by Blaenau Gwent tax-payers.

"I remain unconvinced that an 'All Wales Force' would deliver best value for money," he said.

"Indeed, it would merely create additional tiers of bureaucracy and lines of accountability with no appreciable benefit to the public and potentially generate extra expense." Councillor Hopkins said there has been "little, if any consultation" about the proposal in Blaenau Gwent.

He told Mr Clarke he thought the government should wait for the Beecham Review of Government and Council Services, scheduled for mid-summer 2006, before any "hasty" decisions were made.

And he questioned the advantage of having an all-Wales force, pointing out that Wales has developed a regional structure because of the lack of a fast transport structure.

He said because communities are so dispersed they have issues which are "genuinely regional".

As the Argus reported yesterday, each of the 22 Welsh councils could be offered a seat on an all-Wales Police Authority in what opponents say is a government bid to kill off opposition.

And on Saturday the head of Gwent's CID also criticised the government's plans.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ray Wise told the Argus he feared Gwent's culture as a successful force is at risk if it merges.