Commons to keep all three of its post offices

All three post offices in the Houses of Parliament are to escape the mass cull of London branches.

The Royal Mail provoked outrage by announcing plans to axe 169 post offices in the capital. But it has decided to exempt the offices in the Commons, despite them being a few hundred metres apart.

MPs claim the decision makes a mockery of Royal Mail criteria which says branches can be axed as long as there is another within a mile. Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said: "This is breathtaking hypocrisy. While 'closed' signs are going up in post offices across our capital city, all three within the Parliamentary Estate remain open."

The Royal Mail plans to shut a fifth of the London network by summer. Some sub-postmasters say the Royal Mail has claimed they are doing less work than is actually the case to justify the closures.

"They are making some branches look less busy than they are. Either they are rigging it or they are just sloppy," said Labour MP Andrew Slaughter, who is facing seven closures in his Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush constituency.

A Royal Mail spokesman said the Parliament branches were crown post offices and part of the directly managed national network.

Westminster council today said it was holding talks with the Post Office about opening branches in some of its libraries and leisure centres.