IN WITNEY about 2,000 people have signed a petition against plans to shut their high street post office branch.

Abingdon has already lost its high street post office.

So here is a reminder of where it is all coming from.

Many will have forgotten, or not even know about, the 1997 European Directives 97/67/EC and 2002/39/EC which forced the Royal Mail to surrender the bulk of its business to private companies.

Post offices have deliberately been made less profitable, surviving in the past only because of Government subsidies which have gradually been withdrawn.

So, conclusion: Protesters against post office closures should fully understand that petitioning government ministers is a waste of time.

There is not really a lot they can do. Real power still lies in Brussels and that is where protesters should direct their grievances.

JOHN MADEN, Oxford UKIP Committee