PETER Kyle claims he was misled before a Post Office closed down.

The Hove and Portslade Labour MP spoke in Parliament about what he called ‘a sham consultation’ by the Post Office.

The Western Road branch was closed last year after it was claimed the number of customers had declined in recent years.

Bosses said the branch was no longer “commercially sustainable”.

But one year on, a new Post Office has opened in the Western Road newsagent, just feet away from where the original office was.

Mr Kyle said: “I have absolutely no doubt that I was misled, that the community I represent was misled, and worst of all that the customers who used and depended on that post office were misled.

“Plus the staff who had given a career and indeed a lifetime in work to that post office branch were misled as well.

“The Post Office staff’s jobs disappeared and the jobs that have been created in their place have no pension liability and no guarantee that they would have the standards that people who work long-term in the Post Office can expect.

“And those workers were no longer part of the Post Office family.

“We have a Prime Minister who stood on the steps of Downing Street and said she was going to maintain those sorts of rights and tackle injustices.

“The Post Office is one of her companies; it is an organisation that she runs.

“However, she has allowed it to dwindle, to be stripped of assets and to be taken away from our high streets, and replaced with something that has less value, that makes less of a contribution to our communities, and that offers less stability and value in the workplace to the people who work for it.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “When we hold a consultation, all of the feedback we collect is carefully considered and absolutely shapes our final decision.

“The new Post Office branch in Hove is a different model from a directly managed or crown branch; it is run by an independent retailer.”