Post Office faces further criticism over closure of two London depots
The under-fire Post Office is facing renewed criticism for closing two key London depots despite concerns from campaigners.
Clampham and Southall’s Post Office branches will shutter after their respective leases both ran out, earlier in the year, the Post Office confirmed.
This comes as the Post Office has come in the spotlight in recent weeks over the Horizon scandal, following the airing of an ITV documentary recently.
Last week in parliament, Fujitsu’s UK boss admitted wrongdoing and said it should pay its fair share in compensation, while the Post Office’s former boss Paula Vennells, returned her honour recently, following a public outcry.
This week, the crisis deepened as the Treasury and a swathe of public bodies were being urged to hand over details of their contracts with the controversial tech firm Fujitsu.
In light of the scandal, one campaigner, who is responsible for the Clapham branch and is also a trade union representative, organised a demonstration last Saturday, attended by two local MPs, Bell Ribiero Addy and Florence Eshalomi.
Clive Tickner, the CWU union Post Office Counters representative for east and north London, has been spearheading the campaign to try and save the branches.
He told City A.M. that there has been a series of public meetings and demonstrations, with hundreds of signatures collected.
Tickner said the union is “outraged the decision has not been rescinded.. against the backdrop of these unprecedented times – and particularly in light of the Horizon scandal.”
He called on the government to intervene and “stop the destruction of this vital service”.
The Post Office is also trying to recoup mounting losses, with fears over its finances growing in recent weeks, as it emerged it claimed tax relief on compensation payouts, with warnings it could risk a £100m tax bill and possible insolvency.
Responding to calls for the decision to be reversed, a Post Office spokesperson told City A.M.: “The lease for the premises where both Southall Directly Managed Branch and Clapham Common Directly Managed Branch are both expiring.
“When a lease is ending, a review is undertaken of provision of Post Office services in the local area to ensure that we are sustainably meeting evolving customer needs.
“Consequently, we have decided not to renew the lease at Southall or Clapham as we believe that partnering with a retailer in the local community is the best way to continue to provide access to Post Office products and services on which customers rely.
It insisted the Post Office “consulted on our proposals and are currently reviewing feedback. We will announce our decision in due course. We have long stated our commitment to fully franchise the network as this model is more sustainable for customers and postmasters. Over 99.9 per cent of our branches are successfully run as franchises.”
The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.