MUCH has been made of the escalating prices with, as usual, the Government victim of the blame game.

Readers need to be reminded that if Margaret Thatcher had not sold our major share in the oil and gas industry, our country would now be in a stronger position to control prices of heating, electricity, food and better placed to withstand global pressures.

On another subject, I noted in your article relating to the closure of Simpasture Post Office, Newton Aycliffe, that 4,000 people signed a petition.

With such a large customer base, I wonder the main post office was not closed instead. Having worked with both sub-postmistress Cheryl and Maurice Clark, I trust the same people will continue to support them and ensure they continue to have a prosperous business.

I suspect, however, that most will regularly visit Tesco and the nearby main post office.

Maurice Baker, Middlestone Moor, Spennymoor, Co Durham.

PS. In the letter you printed from me, under the heading "Gordon Brown" (HAS, May 21), you quoted 25 per cent basic tax rate instead of 20 per cent as written. This, in effect, made my observations selfcontradictory