Oh well, Merlin have bascially said it’s out of warranty and based on the LBS conclusion yes new forks are required, provided a link.
I subsequently kick myself as I found some pictures I took within 12 months of owning this bike which showed these cracks starting to occur so technically the issues was there within the warranty period… but due to other things that were going on in my life I didn’t have the time to deal with it. Hey ho.
At this stage I don’t think i’d be buying another Merlin.