Commenting on rumours that the Post Office has already lost its contract to run the Post Office Card Account (POCA) but that the Government is delaying its announcement until after the Glenrothes by-election, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary, John Thurso said:

"If these rumours prove to be true, this is the final nail in the coffin for local post offices.  Giving the contract to anyone other than Post Office Limited themselves is a slap in the face for all the people who are fighting to save their local post office.

"This is a deeply cynical u-turn by the Government given its position just five years ago, when it described POCA as the `cornerstone' of the Post Office's new banking products. 

"It is surely no coincidence that in a by-election week the decision, if indeed there has been one, has not yet been announced."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Jenny Willott said:

"A decision to award the POCA contract to anyone other than the Post Office will mark a dereliction of duty by the Department of Work and Pensions to serve the millions of pensioners and others who rely on pension and benefits payments to make ends meet. 

"Thanks to the locality of post offices, millions of people have come to rely on the POCA as the only means of accessing their benefits because they are disabled, elderly or simply cannot afford to travel miles to the nearest bank.

"The department's most vulnerable customers will suffer if the POCA is not run by the post office."