Royal Mail’s plans to close 2,500 post offices could be thrown into disarray after the Mayor of London said yesterday that he would mount a legal challenge in the capital.

If Ken Livingstone is successful, other local authorities across the country could come under pressure to start similar action. He is seeking a judicial review of the closure of nearly 200 post offices in London because of the impact on local communities.

The closure programme across the country, which is being rolled out regionally, has been controversial because Royal Mail’s Post Office division is only allowing a six-week public consultation period.

Post office branches and communities have complained that this is far too short a time to take effective action. The Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee has also attacked the closures as rushed. There has also been concern because the closures are compulsory and often opposed by the sub-postmasters.

In London, closures have caused more controversy because many post offices are profitable and well used, unlike some in rural areas where they do not get very much trade.

Mr Livingstone said: “Communities in every part of London, especially the most vulnerable people, depend on their local post office. Post Office Ltd has not provided adequate time to consult on its proposals, leaving me with no alternative but to ask lawyers to seek leave to challenge their decision to close 171 post offices in London through a judicial review.”

He said that over the past seven years the number of post offices in London had been cut by 45 per cent while the number of people in the capital had increased. “Now is not the time to be closing post offices but expanding the service.”

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “This is a proportionate response to scandalous behaviour by Post Office Ltd, which seems determined to strip the country of post offices. The consultation has been completely inadequate. We fully support Ken Livingstone’s actions.”

The average number of people per post office in London is 9,923, compared with a national average of 4,138. Over the past six years the national network has shrunk from nearly 18,000 to just over 14,000.

Royal Mail’s six-week consultation period contrasts with the three months that is usually allowed for government or other official reviews.

The Conservatives are also calling for a halt to the plans nationwide and are co-ordinating many of the campaigns against closure by the individual offices.

The Mayor’s legal move is the first substantial challenge to the closure programme. The Federation of Sub-Postmasters has said that there is nothing it can do about the proposals and Postwatch, the consumers’ group, is looking at every outlet individually and the group is involved in the appeals procedures.

The final decision on whether a post office should survive or not, when its closure is opposed by the sub-postmaster and the community, rests with Allan Leighton, the chairman of Royal Mail.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “The Post Office is implementing the Government’s closure decision as sensitively and fairly as possible and we’re doing all we can to ensure the most accessible branch network within the funding available from Government.”

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