The Shadow Minister of Home Affairs has expressed “serious concerns” about the future of the Post Office, suggesting the Bermuda Government may be planning to close it for good.

Speaking in the House of Assembly last week, Walter Roban pointed to the “steady decline” in post office staff and the closure of four offices (Paget, Harrington Sound, St David’s and Somerset Bridge) since 2014.

“I’ve been informed that there is great concern among staff and, in some cases, angry and frustrated citizens calling in talk shows about the lack of mail delivery,” he said.

Naming Paget as the only parish in Bermuda without a functioning post office, Mr Roban accused One Bermuda Alliance representatives Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, Mark Pettingill, Wayne Scott and Jeff Sousa of not caring enough about the people they served.

“Are [they] concerned about the fact that their parish has no post office? I have not heard anything from [them] in the media or otherwise,” he said.

Mr Roban inferred that the Government was subtly seeking to shut the Post Office altogether rather than revamp it.

“There are some who believe that there is a process of liquidation,” he said.

“There is a question about the Government’s commitment to the modernisation of the Post Office, rather than its liquidation.”

Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, the Minister of Community, Culture and Sport, rejected the suggestion that the OBA was uninterested in either the Post Office or its staff.

She added: “[Mr Roban] will know that we hear all but daily there is a challenge. We do get the concern expressed. However, we have to deal with the situation that we have.”

Michael Dunkley later told the House that, before being shut down, the Paget post office was being used almost entirely for its post office boxes.

The Premier added that those affected by its closure had been offered boxes at the Warwick and Hamilton post offices.