This U-turn shows why a free press is essential

HOW sad it has been to watch the decline of our postal services.

From a respected, efficient and popular national institution, they have become chilly businesses, mainly famous for closing counters and for the despicable treatment of honest postmasters and postmistresses who had fallen foul of an obviously faulty computer system.

The behaviour and reputation of such national bodies are vital in any society, and everyone suffers when they go wrong.

So The Mail on Sunday is delighted that postal chiefs have listened to our campaign to make it easier for customers to return non-barcoded stamps.

The now-axed arrangements were inconvenient, overly bureaucratic and were not working well.

Did some cynic perhaps hope that customers would not bother to send off for barcoded swaps? People had reasonably bought stamps ahead of need as a sensible act of thrift. The introduction of barcodes came out of the blue.

It is still hard to see why post offices themselves, which are well used to handling both money and stamps, should not make the exchange on the spot.

The U-turn has happened only because of a press campaign. Indeed, without free and independent newspapers, bureaucrats and jobsworths would be able to mistreat the public with impunity for much of the time.

This is why the powerful are so often the enemies of press freedom. Beware their unceasing attempts to muzzle that crucial liberty.