Final postal votes with Royal Mail, say minister

Ministers moved today to defuse the row over postal-only voting as they revealed that 100 per cent of the remaining ballot packs for next week's Euro and local elections were issued to the Royal Mail shortly after 5am.

The Government missed its deadline of midnight last night but is confident all 14 million voters will have their papers in time for the 10 June elections.

Round-the-clock efforts by councils meant that all post office staff in the four regions affected have the necessary postal forms.

Minister for constitutional affairs Christopher Leslie said today: "I should like to put on record my thanks to the printers, Royal Mail and returning officers who have risen to the challenge of this large-scale all-postal pilot. There were always bound to be stories of local glitches and technical difficulties from time to time."

But the Tories and Lib-Dems said it proved John Prescott was wrong to ignore the warnings of the Electoral Commission that two pilot schemes should be held rather than four.