DEBATE surrounding the controversial merger between Surrey and Sussex Police looks set to continue, with several MPs protesting against the move. Surrey's 12 MPs - including South West Surrey's Jeremy Hunt - tabled an early day motion on Tuesday, urging Home Secretary Charles Clarke to reconsider his proposals. With no support for a voluntary merger at an extraordinary meeting of the Surrey Police Authority (SPA) earlier this month, Mr Hunt expressed his feelings on the issue. "My colleagues and I who represent Surrey all unanimously oppose the Home Secretary's controversial proposals to merge Surrey and Sussex Police. "Personally, I think replacing the current structure with regional police forces will seriously damage the relationship between local people and the police. "A good bond between the community and the police is so important. If this disappears, local accountability will be eroded. "The government must avoid modernising the police service into something distant and unresponsive to people's demands for a visible police presence on their streets, in their towns and in their villages," he added. Meanwhile, Mr Clarke's proposals have caused the first casualty in Surrey, with Liz Campbell, chairman of SPA for the past two years, announcing her desire to leave the independent authority. Citing the seemingly inevitable merger as a factor in her resignation, Mrs Campbell will move on to head a national charity.
