Daisy Cooper MP met Post Offices bosses in Parliament and slammed their failure to properly inform her, St Albans residents, the district council or the branch staff about possible changes to the Crown Post Office on St Peter’s Street, St Albans.
At a Parliamentary drop-in event on Wednesday 11th December, Daisy Cooper MP grilled Post Office bosses on why she, St Albans residents and branch staff had only heard about the closure threats via the media.
She demanded to know why the Post Office had not come to Parliament with constituency-specific information about post office services, footfall, customer demand and financial viability, but secured a commitment that this information would be shared with MPs within 7 days.
Daisy Cooper said:
“I’m absolutely appalled by the terrible lack of communication and obfuscation from Post Office bosses about the future of the St Peter’s Street Post Office.
“When I met Post Office bosses in Parliament, everything they said created more confusion.
“They talked of the “burning platform” of the Post Office’s national finances but also said that other Post Offices in Hertfordshire were working well and making a profit.
“They blamed other parties for leaking the information but accepted that they had done nothing to clear up any confusion since the first media reports.
“They said they wanted to consult communities, but that no consultation would even start until after they had come to a “decision” with the Minister and the Communication Workers Union on possible options at the end of March.
“They also claimed that this review was part of a continuing process of review that is happening all the time but sheepishly admitted – after repeated questioning from MPs – that this was a new more urgent initiative, prompted by a new Post Office leadership.
“At this stage it’s impossible to tell what could happen to St Peter’s Street Post Office. Trying to get answers out of Post Office bosses was like trying to pin jelly to the wall.
“I’m pleased that after repeated questioning, I managed to pin them down to sharing constituency-specific information with me within 7 days, and that through a joint effort, our group of cross-party MPs have secured a commitment that Post Office bosses will meet us again early in the new year, once that information has been shared.
“The St Peter’s Street Post Office provides vital services to all of us, but especially to some of the more vulnerable people in our community, and to small high street businesses. I will keep fighting to get answers and to protect Post Office services in the heart of the city.”
