Tag: UK

Edinburgh MP Mark Lazarowicz has joined the campaign to save Royal Mail rail services.

Royal Mail has recently announced it intends to withdraw its entire rail network of services for mail distribution by March 2004 in favour of using planes and lorries.

Mr Lazarowicz is one of more than 40 MPs who are supporting a parliamentary motion calling for Royal Mail’s decision to be reversed.

The Post Office is close to signing a banking partner, which will enable it to go head-to-head with the clearing banks and supermarkets to sell personal loans, credit cards and savings products.

David Mills, the man who founded First Direct and is now chief executive of the Post Office network, will take responsibility for the changes, which are designed to make branches more commercial.

The Royal Mail is speeding up the closure of 3,000 urban post offices by a year. The programme had been due to end in December 2005 but is now being brought forward 12 months to reduce the uncertainty facing sub-postmasters, said Royal Mail’s chairman Allan Leighton. He also announced plans to sell more financial services in post offices, including personal loans and life insurance.

The head of the sub-postmasters’ union yesterday criticised a Pounds 3m pension deal for John Roberts, former chief executive of Royal Mail. Mr Roberts, who retired in December, will get an annual payment of about Pounds 150,000, which the Royal Mail will account for as worth about Pounds 3m.