THE head of West Mercia Police Authority is opposing a plan for directly elected members, warning the move could be divisive.

His comments come after the Government announced its intention to press ahead with introducing directly elected police authorities despite concern it could politicise policing.

The authority is now writing to MPs, including Worcester’s Labour MP Mike Foster, about the risks associated with changes.

Authority chairman Paul Deneen said: “Politics has played little or no part in key decision-making of the police authority.

“The West Mercia Police Authority remains totally opposed to such changes as we feel that the proposals would add little to the current successful working other than being divisive, by introducing party politics into the heart of key decision-making and could potentially destroy the excellent relationships between the authority, West Mercia Constabulary, local councils, stakeholders and the public.”

Currently half the members are local councillors and the others are local residents who oversee the quality of local policing on non-party political lines.