POST OFFICE CLOSURES ARE A BETRAYAL - MULHOLLAND

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 14th Dec 2006

Responding to the Government's announcement today on the future of the post office network, Liberal Democrat MP and Member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, Greg Mulholland, has attacked the Government for failing to address the future of Royal Mail.

Commenting, Mr Mulholland said: "This is the end for thousands of local shops and rural businesses that depend on their local post office.

"Rural and deprived urban communities will feel betrayed by these mass post office closures.

"Unless Ministers free post offices from Royal Mail's restrictive contracts, even more closures can be expected. "The Government's failure to announce plans on Royal Mail is an astonishing dereliction of duty and smacks of political cowardice; they are clearly not willing to take the tough decisions which will secure Royal Mail's future. "If tough decisions on Royal Mail had been taken, the freedoms and funds for saving post offices could have been found. Without them, both Royal Mail and the post office network will die a slow death. "Our postal services have a proud 300 year history which this Government has decimated in less than a decade."