Now Post Office Watch Dog Demands Official Review of Post Office Closures

12.33.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 28th Jun 2004

The London Chair of the Post Office watch dog, Postwatch, has written to Vincent Cable, MP, to tell him that Postwatch is invoking the formal Review Mechanism to try to stop two of the five threatened post office closures.

These are Tangley Park Road, Hampton Nurserylands, where the proposal has "not taken into account customers basic shopping patterns" and Nelson Road, Whitton, because of the "lack of capacity" at the main local alternative which is in Hounslow.

Vincent Cable said: "Postwatch is the only organisation that has a legal handle on the Post Office closure programme. Not all their Review Mechanism appeals work but they give us a fighting chance. They are not willing to fight all the closures partly because the postmasters/mistresses sometimes want to quit themselves. But the Hampton and Whitton closures have stirred the strongest feeling and there are strong objective grounds for appeal. We must hope that Postwatch is successful."