Janice Taylor (Trent Valley, Lichfield Post Office), Mrs Cash Badham and her daughter Anita (Armitage Post Office) and Mrs Kim Frankham (Hammerwich Post Office) travelled down to London as part of the huge lobby of sub post masters and mistresses which besieged Parliament on Wednesday.

But speaking during prime minister’s question time Mr Blair said it was essential that the Post Office faces up to the “challenges of modernisation”. However there are very real fears that government proposals to pay benefits and pensions directly into claimant’s bank accounts could dramatically reduce business for post offices which normally handle such transactions. Tony Blair was speaking after a petition bearing the signatures of three million protestors against the changes was handed in to Downing Street.

“The small post offices throughout my constituency, both in Lichfield and the villages, face closure if this legislation is passed” says Michael Fabricant. “The Government just haven’t thought this through. I have met sub post masters and mistresses in Lichfield and now down in the House of Commons. It is very clear that Stephen Byers proposals following on from the Rover debacle will result in further job losses – this time in post offices. We resisted these proposals when we were in Government, why has New Labour fallen into this trap? I suspect it is naivety over how small businesses are run”.