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A full merger of Police Scotland with the British Transport Police will not be possible by the April 2019 deadline, a senior officer has said.

Ch Supt John McBride told British Transport Police (BTP) staff that government officials will be informed at a meeting on 30 January.

He said Police Scotland had put forward an alternative option of "operational integration".

It would see the force taking over railway policing and all BTP staff.

But it would rely on BTP for support in areas such as technology, funding and data access.

In a statement posted on the BTP intranet, he said: "BTP has planned for full integration. The alternative proposal presents real challenges to deliver the outcomes of the project."

He added that transferring officers and staff from BTP to Police Scotland with their terms and conditions protected is "proving a challenging and hugely complicated piece of work".

BTP Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock has previously told MSPs he would prefer the creation of Transport Police Scotland than the merger.

He said in an internal statement: "We are at a very important stage in preparation for the future of railway policing in Scotland and I am pleased to see that those involved in the decision making process have listened very carefully to what we've said."

He said the decision meant "informed proposals" could be put to the joint board overseeing the integration.

Safety concerns

Holyrood passed legislation to subsume BTP in Scotland into the single force in June, despite widespread opposition.

Detractors have raised safety concerns, and have criticised the Scottish government for not producing a business case for the merger that set out the potential benefits, disadvantages and costs

But the Scottish government claims the merger will make transport policing more accountable.

Scotland's acting top police officer, Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, told MSPs on the Justice Committee on Tuesday there were "significant issues" with the BTP merger which will "not be resolved" by the deadline date.

He said these include IT systems, pension, and terms and conditions and he would not be drawn on a date when full integration would occur.

The Scottish Conservatives plan to hold a debate at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday calling for the merger to be paused.

They will cite "leadership challenges facing police Scotland" and the importance of railway policing in responding to terrorism.