Parliament's decision to accept European Commission proposals to abolish the VAT exemption on stamps and other postal services. Ms Evans and fellow Plaid Cymru MEP Eurig Wyn both voted against the plans which were eventually passed by Euro-MPs.

Speaking from Strasbourg after the vote, Jill Evans MEP, who represents the whole of Wales in the European Parliament, said:

"The outcome of today's vote is highly regrettable and reverses the stance that MEPs took when this first came before us in December. I am particularly concerned about the effect of this decision on the users of postal services and the potential knock-on effects for post offices, which are already facing serious pressures.

"We saw some progress with a number of concessions being made, including measures to avoid charities being adversely affected, and a special reduced rate of VAT for items up to 10kg.

"Nonetheless, this proposal as it stands still fails to take adequate account of consumer interests and unfairly penalises non-business users of postal services in particular."

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