Minehead’s MP Ian Liddell-Grainger says he is concerned but hardly surprised there have been no offers to run the town’s post office once it leaves its present home.
But he has urged any would-be applicants not to be deterred by what the current public inquiry is revealing about the Horizon scandal which saw more than 900 postmasters wrongly prosecuted.
Mr Liddell-Grainger wrote to the Post Office asking what progress had been made in securing the future of its Minehead branch, currently based in the Co-op store which is scheduled for closure and demolition in the next few months.
Officials have confirmed not a single application has been received - and are now relaunching their advertising campaign to try to stimulate interest.
The nearest post office to Minehead’s was in Alcombe but that closed last year. If the Minehead office goes that will leave the tiny Dunster post office, two miles away, as the nearest.
Mr Liddell-Grainger said for Minehead to be in the position of having no post office was ‘unthinkable’.
“On the other hand I am not completely surprised by this situation,” he said.
“Thanks to the evidence now being teased out of witnesses at the public inquiry the Post Office brand has become tainted by a saga of cover-ups, bullying, lying, shockingly inept leadership and an overwhelming desire to protect its reputation, no matter who got trampled on in the process.
“That reputation has now been comprehensively shredded to the extent where most people would rather walk barefoot across broken glass than take a job as a postmaster.
“It’s difficult to argue with that viewpoint but what I would say is that there has been a dramatic culture shift within the organisation. The Post Office has been severely chastened by the revelations, ahead of any chastisement the inquiry report may dish out.
“Most of those most deeply implicated in the Horizon affair have left. Senior officials now accept they are in the national spotlight and are likely to remain so for months if not years. On that basis they are not about to put a foot wrong and it is obvious that their dealings with postmasters from now on will be based on honesty, fairness, transparency and integrity.
“I trust that diametric change of attitude will convince some people at least that the new-look Post Office does indeed offer rewarding opportunities - and that we shall be able to achieve service continuity in Minehead.”
