• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

You will be aware ' or maybe you will not be ' that there are equally proposals to close eight post offices in my own borough of Lambeth, all of them will disproportionately affect disadvantaged community groups. Can I invite you to put on record your support for the cross-party campaign against that, and can I also invite you to examine Val Shawcross's current workload. I say this ' because Val (Shawcross) has chosen, in her next question to personalise matters ' just to draw your attention to her reply to a request from local campaigners that she support the...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

I accept your commitment to me, but will you therefore, perhaps, do that now and invite the leaders of the other groups to come with you?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

You have not done it.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Given the importance of these post offices to Londoners, I am just a bit surprised that you are not clear whether your officers have already sought an urgent meeting with the Post Office to emphasise to them the conflict with the London Plan. Have you, yourself, sought a meeting with the chief executive of the Post Office to impress upon him the serious conflict that there is with the London Plan and to make it clear that the GLA has powers that it might use to try to frustrate their'

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

I would like to press as to exactly what campaigning you have done. You were good enough to write supporting the campaign against the closure of Hayes Village Post Office in, I think, the autumn of this year, and you will recall that I wrote to you in September raising general concerns about the effect of post office closures in London, and you wrote to the Government, and I think copied a reply back to me. I would like to know what steps you have taken - or officers, obviously, on your behalf have taken - specifically to provide support...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

I think I do have a right to reply to a personal comment like that in this meeting. I think if Mr Tuffrey had continued reading that letter out, it would have been made apparent that I have recently met the Royal Mail' I have a right of reply under Standing Orders to a personal attack made in this Assembly, and I think I made it absolutely clear that I had recently met Royal Mail in Kennington and taken up the issues of poor service standards in Kennington, because in addition to the post office closures, I think many Londoners...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Can I also just draw your attention to the possibility that Kensington and Chelsea is considering funding one of their local residents taking the Post Office to judicial review over the closing of one of the post offices in Kensington. I wonder whether that is something you would like to support and perhaps you would like to'

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Mr Mayor, I offer you an opportunity. Within my constituency, in Harrow, there is a proposal by the Post Office, to close nine post offices, at the moment, which has just finished its consultation. Here is an ideal opportunity to make a direct approach ' and I welcome your suggestion to take some direct approach in this regard ' to actually stop the Post Office from ceasing service to high numbers of vulnerable people, and I think that is something that we clearly need to take some action on and clearly need some positive lead from yourself as the Mayor.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

It leaves you and Liverpool Council in a bit of a limbo does it not? Do you feel like throwing in the towel?

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

You are saying you cannot do any more, then?