Following thousands of post office closures during recent years, Gordon Brown's Labour Government now say that a further 2,500 are to close, 169 of those are in London, with seven Post Offices due to close in Hillingdon alone.

Lib Dem PPC for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Cllr Mike Cox, said:

"People are genuinely angry about these closures, and who can blame them? Frankly, it's incredible that the Government is prepared to allow the destruction of vital public services like Post Offices while at the same time wasting billions of pounds on their pointless ID card scheme - I know were I would rather see the money go.

"All this suggests to me that the Government is simply out of touch with the priorities of ordinary people."

London Mayoral candidate, Brian Paddick said: "Post offices are often the heart of a local community and we must all do our utmost to preserve them.

"The trouble with economic arguments is that they leave people out of the equation and they are the most important part.

"Many people rely on a local post office, and to close 20% of London's post offices just shows a complete disregard for the needs of the local communities."