Good to see John Reid continues to waste our money

Yorkshire police wasted £1m on unwanted merger plan- "A YORKSHIRE chief constable claims the Government's aborted attempts to create a White Rose regional super force...cost to all four forces in excess of £1m... the region's police chiefs were planning to form a powerful conglomerate to bill Home Secretary John Reid for wasted police time." (Yorkshire Post 25.7.06)Welsh police wasted £1m on unwanted merger plan- "Ian Roberts, chair of the north Wales authority, which opposed the merger, said ministers would be billed for costs such as staff and legal advice. "This exercise in futility has cost £375,000 in north Wales alone and across Wales as a whole the bill is likely to be in excess of £1m. It is not right that the council taxpayers of north Wales should be expected to pick up the financial pieces of the merger mayhem that was imposed on our force and the police authority." (BBC Wales 21.7.06)Kent police wasted £243,445 on unwanted merger plan- "Kent Police said it has written to John Reid setting out why it should be reimbursed £243,445 it spent on the scheme... "in view of the fact that we did not have a choice as to whether to compile the business cases we are obliged to recover the substantial costs incurred"... the "incredibly short timescales" in which the force had to respond affected day-to-day policing... staff had "no opportunity to plan effectively and mitigate the impact on the organisation and key individuals... senior police officers and staff diverted from policing Kent and Medway to attend Home Office and regional meetings." (Yorkshire Post 29.7.06)Sussex police wasted £1m on unwanted merger plan- "The ditched plans to merge Sussex and Surrey have cost the Sussex force £1 million. Sussex MP Nick Herbert...said: "It was a serious mistake to embark on forced mergers which were expensive and would have reduced local accountability." (This is Hertfordshire 19.07.06)Unwanted police merger total for week- £3,243,445 (and counting)