Rural post offices are thought be among those at greatest risk

Post Office Ltd will tell postmasters next week which branches should close through its network change programme.

The full list of planned closures will be announced on 22 October, followed by a public consultation process.

The announcement will affect branches in Greater Glasgow, Argyll and Bute and Central Scotland.

The UK Government announced proposals to reduce the number of sub post offices in May and put forward a raft of modernisation plans to reduce the company's �4m weekly losses.

Public consultation

Main branches or Crown offices are likely to be unaffected by the closure programme, as are those identified as having a high commercial value.

The brunt of the cuts are expected to be borne by the rural network and branches close to other post offices.

A Post Office Ltd spokesman said: "The network change programme will involve the compulsory compensated closure of up to 2,500 branches across the UK.

"To make sure that the views of local people are heard, there will be a six-week period of local public consultation before any final decision is taken on how the government policy will be implemented in each area.

"At the launch of the public consultation a full list of proposed changes to the Post Office network will be published, but until then it is impossible to speculate on the future of individual branches."