A final decision on the future of the Post Office network and the Post Office Card Account (POCA) will come within weeks, campaigners believe.

The National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) remains positive after marching on London to deliver a petition containing more than four million signatures in support of POCA.

After a rally in Westminster Hall, NFSP bosses met PM Tony Blair. The day received huge press coverage, with the plight of many individual postmasters covered by both national and regional media.

Chairman of the NFSP negotiating committee John Peberdy said he was confident the campaign would end in success.

He told Convenience Store: "Mr Blair listened to our representations and realised the urgency involved. We're expecting a decision in the next few weeks on the size and shape of the network. We also think we'll succeed in getting some kind of account introduced which will act as a successor to POCA, but which will also be more functional."

Peberdy added: "We also spoke with David Cameron, who said he was looking at other work which could be
carried out in post offices in the future, such as local council advice counters.

"The whole attitude of the government changed as the petition grew and support for the Early Day Motion increased. We're going to keep the pressure on. This is the start of something rather than the end."