HYNDBURN MP Greg Pope is stepping up his fight to save the jobs of 112 tax office workers.

Earlier this month the Government announced plans to close the tax office at Castle House, Eastgate, Accrington, as part of a major restructuring scheme put forward by HM Revenue and Customs.

Workers, many of whom walked out to express their anger over the move, fear being relocated to offices as far away as Liverpool and Manchester.

Mr Pope, left, has already met Jane Kennedy, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, to discuss the issue.

He said: “She has agreed to meet the people from Accrington and I have asked for the decision to be put on hold pending her reassurance that people will be relocated to nearby tax offices.

“I am really outraged about this decision which makes no sense at all. I think the Government is wrong.

“The Accrington office is one of the top-performing tax offices in the country and there is no good reason for it to close. The staff are as dismayed as I am about this, and to move them to Manchester or Bootle would be totally unacceptable.”

Mr Pope has also tabled a House of Commons early day motion noting the decision to close the office with dismay and calling for it to be reversed.