Army chiefs were on tenterhooks today ahead of a major announcement on the future of an historic West Yorkshire regiment.

The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, which recruits in Bradford, could be axed under radical reforms.

But the Ministry of Defence was this morning staying tight-lipped over claims the regiment could merge with other battalions.

An MoD spokesman dismissed the rumours as "pure speculation".

Calder Valley MP Chris McCafferty raised the question of the regiment's future with Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.

She asked for an assurance that the Dukes would be able to keep their single badge status and separate identity in the defence review.

Mrs McCafferty said: "In addition to preserving the history and traditions of the regiment, it is clear that the historical local ties make a huge difference to recruitment.

"In each of the last three years around 100 recruits have joined the Dukes from West Yorkshire and in every year a significant proportion have come from Calderdale."

Under the proposal, the Halifax-based regiment, along with the remaining 18 single-battalion regiments, could be amalgamated into eight multi-battalion regional regiments.

It would most likely merge with the Green Howards, based in Richmond, and the York-based Prince of Wales's Own Regiment to form a 'super-battalion' for Yorkshire.

"I believe that the proposal to merge the single regiment battalions is not necessary on financial grounds because the defence budget has recently been increased. Viable alternatives have been put forward by the battalions," said Mrs McCafferty.

Mr Hoon was making a statement in the Commons later today.

The shake-up would be the Army's most radical reform since the 1870s, and is bound to outrage supporters of the single-battalion regiments.

Councillor Kris Hopkins, deputy leader of Bradford Council, served with the battalion between 1985 and 1989. He said: "It is an absolute disgrace. What they are really talking about is reducing man power by about 650 soldiers.

"It is coming at a time when more troops are about to be deployed to Iraq to unknown situations and this will do nothing to help morale."

The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was formed in 1881, and has been linked to the West Riding of Yorkshire since the mid-18th Century.