Met chief Mark Rowley calls for England and Wales police forces to be cut to eight to 10 super-forces

Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, has called for the 43 police forces in England and Wales to be merged into eight to 10 larger forces. The proposal has been backed by chief constables of other forces, including Greater Manchester Police, and has drawn criticism from several regional mayors, according to The Guardian.

The idea has a longer history in government. In January, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to radically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales. She commissioned a review from Bernard Hogan-Howe, a former Metropolitan Police commissioner. That review has not yet been published. It is understood to propose between nine and 18 larger forces, down from the current 43.

Under the reform, as the BBC reported, the 43-force structure would be replaced by a three-tier system. Local teams would deal with neighbourhood issues.

Criticism has come from the regional level. Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region, called the super-force proposals "the wolf of centralisation dressed up in sheep's clothing". He said that folding local forces into a handful of enormous regional bodies runs counter to devolution, the transfer of powers from central government to local areas, and would undermine local accountability.

Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, is understood to be concerned that the radical changes may damage accountability and neighbourhood policing. Bev Craig, the Greater Manchester mayor, said she would urge the government not to implement the most radical of Rowley's plans. David Skaith, the mayor of York and North Yorkshire, described the proposals as a "real threat" to local policing and said he would "not be lectured" by Rowley.

A policing chief, who was not named in the report, described plans to dramatically slash the number of forces as a "recipe for disaster". The Financial Times has reported that Rowley was publicly criticised by a senior officer and by mayors over his push to merge police forces.

For now, the Hogan-Howe review remains unpublished, and the proposals are not government policy.