JOHN REID signalled yesterday that the merger of North-East police forces will be shelved or even scrapped because of the wider crisis engulfing the Home Office.

The new Home Secretary - facing rising anger over the foreign prisoners fiasco - told a committee of MPs he was not convinced the mergers would deliver the better policing promised.

The restructuring appeared "abstract", rather than offering "more police on the beat, more accountability and more community control", he said.

His comments came after a report forecast the merger plans would cost £500m and could lead to the loss of 25,000 police jobs nationwide.

The report's author, Barry Loveday, of the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, will today tell the Prime Minister's strategy unit that he believes the plans should be dropped.

He said the amalgamation would reduce accountability and lead to remote police headquarters and a less-efficient police force.

Yesterday's comments by the Home Secretary, to the home affairs select committee, were seen as the first stage of a climbdown that will delay the unpopular mergers - or scrap them altogether.

The move could be announced as early as tomorrow, when Dr Reid addresses the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Cleveland, which is fighting the creation of a single North-East force, is among several police authorities that have threatened to challenge the mergers in the High Court.

But Dr Reid - who replaced the sacked Charles Clarke only three weeks ago - is already faced with the huge task of overhauling the immigration service following a succession of scandals.

Further evidence that the mergers will be shelved came when Tony McNulty, the new Police Minister, told a Commons debate he would "take a look at things like timetables".

The likely delay delighted David McLuckie, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, who said: "This is the first time a minister has said this.

"I hope the amalgamation orders will now be withdrawn for 12 months and we can look again at all the different options on the table.

"We believe our proposal of a Tees Valley city-region force is still deliverable, or there is the federated option under which forces could work more closely together."

Cleveland's opposition to a region-wide force has already triggered a four-month consultation and will force the Home Office to bring an order before Parliament to force through the merger.

Durham and Northumbria remain in favour but can press ahead only if the Home Secretary gives the go-ahead.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: "Certain departments have been asked to examine the various issues and implications of a future regional force. But this is simply a case of planning ahead."

Northumbria Police Deputy Chief Constable David Warcup said: "It's appropriate that new ministers will need to look at the proposals in detail, but here in Northumbria we feel the best solution for the future of policing in the North-East is a single regional force."

North Yorkshire is also facing up to the prospect of a merger with Humberside, West and South Yorkshire.