SIR - According to your article (Worcester News, June 7) the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has praised the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters' courage in the Afghan conflict.

A regimental spokesman rightly said: "I know Worcester is very proud of the regiment."

Unfortunately, thanks to this Government, we won't be able to be proud of them for very much longer.

How many of your readers know that our famous old regiments, such as the Woofers and the Glorious Gloucesters, are disappearing because they are to be merged into larger units?

When the then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced the restructuring of the British Army into larger regimental formations of 1,500 men each, all the attention was focused on the abolition of our historic regiments.

What Mr Hoon did not choose to explain was the purpose behind the change, or how these units would be used in the future.

He did not bother to remind us that he had agreed that the European Union should be able to deploy "battle-groups" of 1,500 men in international trouble spots, or that Britain is pledged to contribute several of the units in this EU rapid reaction force.

So our most significant defence policy decision for 20 years has been taken behind the scenes Richard Spencer, Malvern.