And the winning post office is... closed

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A COMPETITION to find Britain's best post office has descended into farce with judges forced to consider hundreds of nominations for much-missed branches axed by cost-cutting bosses.

The Royal Mail launched the search to find the very best outlet offering "outstanding customer service, whether it is in a city shopping centre, village shop or even pub, farm or church".

But the move has been branded a "sick joke" by MPs who have nominated all 1,800 post ordered to close in last year's cull.

Some 180 branches in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset were shut last year as part of the Royal Mail's closure programme, sparking widespread protests across the region.

Campaigners carried a coffin through the village of St Neot, near Liskeard, Cornwall, in protest at losing its vital post office while 60 residents of Kennerleigh, near Exeter, formed a convoy to drive to the nearest alternative post offices several miles away.

Ministers insisted the cuts were needed to put the network back on a stable financial footing.

But more than a dozen MPs are now attempting to embarrass the Royal Mail by derailing the competition to find the "best" branch. Judges could be left red-faced if the majority of branches nominated have already disappeared.

Three Commons motions naming around 180 branches – including dozens in the Westcountry – called for MPs to deliberately sabotage the contest.

"Quite honestly, for the Post Office to be running this, what is effectively a promotion, at a time when lots of communities are facing a closed post office, is a sick joke," said Somerton and Frome MP David Heath.

"I hope that people have been busy nominating post offices that they lost and cherished to bring it home to Post Office bosses that the cuts in the network were unnecessary and resented."

Nominations closed last week and the winners of the South West regional awards, for categories including Best Crown Post Office, Best Town and City Post Office and Best Community Post Office, will be announced in April.

The national final to name the country's Best Post Office will be held on May 21.

Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall, condemned the competition at a time when the people running doomed branches had been badly treated: "The post office is part of the community, is well-loved and looking at many of the branches which have been nominated for closure, in several cases there is no clear business case at all.

"I hope that people have been busy nominating for this award. The Post Office should really be re-evaluating the way it has treated sub-postmasters in this incredibly difficult time, rather than handing out tokenistic awards."

Appealing for nominations, Mike Dalton of Post Office Ltd said: "Post office teams work extremely hard to provide a wide range of services, from stamps and mail to foreign currency, car, home and even pet insurance, that people can trust and rely on. The Best Post Office Awards give everyone across the UK the opportunity to tell us which outlets offer the very best customer service."

After waves of protest and fears of further closures, Lord Mandelson announced last year that he would extend the £1 billion Post Office Card Account to allow people to collect pensions and benefits from their local branch.

The Business Secretary is facing a fresh revolt over plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail, although the post office network would be kept in public hands