Police chiefs could merge three police borough commanders into a single role in dramatic cost-cutting measures aimed at slashing £800 million.

Brent, Harrow and Barnet police borough commanders could find themselves without a job as the Met announces its plans to amalgamate staff, buildings and resources to cut costs under its ongoing spending review.

The tri-borough merger would see the removal of three police chief posts, leaving overall control of policing in the area brought under the control of a single officer.

Navin Shah, Assembly member for Brent and Harrow, called the plans a “ridiculous proposition” – adding that the move demonstrates the impact of “deep and damaging cuts by government”.

He said: “Brent’s crime profile is in no way comparable with that of Harrow or Barnet. Through focussed and dedicated partnership working of local police, council and stakeholder groups Brent has managed keep local community safe but there are still mega concerns about violent crime which is significantly high and this includes murders.

“To manage such serious situation and to turn the tide of crime towards safety we need to maintain local Borough commander providing local leadership, local accountability and not a remote command.

“A trio borough command merger of Brent, Harrow and Barnet is a ridiculous idea which needs scrapping straight away.

“We've already lost dedicated neighbourhood policing which has been a bad and unpopular move raising fear of crime.

“The move to merge borough commands will take away local leadership, local intelligence, local relationships, transparency and local accountability.”

The mergers are one of the ideas on the table in a bid to save forces an estimated £800 million - £1.4 billion in the next four years - along with freezing the numbers of senior staff across London.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service said: “The Metropolitan Police Service is undergoing a significant transformational change programme.

“As part of this we are looking at many options for change, one of which is implementing a model which will see a number of boroughs sharing services and resources.

“Further work is being done to explore how we could manage services like neighbourhood policing, response, investigation and protection of vulnerable people across a number of boroughs. This will include consultation with external stakeholders.

“No decisions will be made until the Met's budget position is clear. This will not be until the New Year, once the Comprehensive Spending Review is announced and our grant allocation is confirmed.”

But these plans are not entirely a new idea – in 2012 a merger between Barnet and Harrow was being considered by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) as the Metropolitan Police sought to fill a £233milllion funding gap by 2015.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson stepped in to reject the proposals, underlining the need for a “single figure at the top of every borough who is directly and immediately accountable for policing- that is the borough commander.”