Labour Post Office rebellion

At least 20 Labour MPs voted in favour of a Conservative proposal to stop the closure of 2,500 Post Offices.

Alan Duncan said it was "astonishing" that the motion was defeated by only 20 votes, and he described the Government as having "squeaked home".

The Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform put the Labour rebellion down to "the power of argument overcoming the power of their whips".

And he attacked those Labour MPs who had campaigned to support Post Offices in their own constituencies, but then "done a runner" when they had a chance to make a real difference.