The home secretary has told MPs he is delaying all but one police force merger until after the summer recess.

Speaking at Home Office questions, John Reid said he still believed that the "status quo is not an option" but wanted to continue discussions with forces.

Many police authorities and MPs have opposed the plan to merge the 43 forces in England and Wales into 17 'super forces'.

Reid was due to present a final decision to the House of Commons by the end of July.

Announcing the delay, he said he was responding to "the will of the House, of the police authorities and many outside this House".

He said only one merger, the voluntary combination of forces in Cumbria and Lancashire, would go ahead before the autumn.

Responding to a question from Conservative MP Robert Goodwill, he said: "I remain of the view that strategic mergers are the right way to improve protective police services.

"However I am keen to continue the discussion and dialogue we have begun with police forces and police authorities on the best way to get to that destination.

"Accordingly, I do not propose to lay any orders for enforced police mergers before the summer recess.

"I hope however it will be possible to press ahead with the voluntary merger of the Cumbria and Lancashire police forces."

Former home secretary Charles Clarke accepted the conclusions of a 2005 report which found that forces with fewer than 4,000 officers could not meet the required standards across seven "protective" services including homicide and counter terrorism.

Reid said: "I believe that is not only better for the strategic level protective forces but will also supplement our effort to put more police on the streets in the neighbourhood in a visible, accessible, responsive fashion, because it means when a major crisis occurs, we do not have to pull them out to deal with that major crisis."

He said he wanted "further and slower consideration", but could "not promise a referendum".

Commenting after Reid's statement, shadow police reform minister Nick Herbert said: "We welcome these mergers being delayed because they were always going through on an absurdly fast timetable.

"The government now needs to stop altogether these unnecessary and expensive amalgamations that will only damage neighbourhood policing, and focus instead on the issues that matter."