Post offices to shut within weeks

Scores of post offices in London and the South-East are to close in the coming weeks, it emerged today.

The Post Office said for the first time that 69 sub-offices were threatened with closure, 19 in the South-East and 40 within London. The move is part of mass proposed closures throughout the country totalling 396 and the Post Office has admitted that almost all would shut their doors in the very near future.

Ministers have sanctioned the closures out of concern at the organisation'smounting losses. A switch to paying pensions and benefits directly into bank accounts is estimated to be costing the Post Office ?400million a year.

The loss of business has spurred the Department of Trade and Industry to spend ?2billion on IT systems and other initiatives, with the aim of turning post offices into minibanks able to handle basic account services as well as selling foreign currency and travel insurance. But the profits from these operations were not expected to match the losses from the passbook pension and benefits payments.

A parliamentary report by the Treasury select committee has heavily criticised the Government for its handling of the closure programme.

The MPs' committee said that many of the duties performed by post offices which until now have gone unrewarded should receive funding.