Crunch talks have been set up between agriculture minister Nick Brown and representatives of Ministry of Agriculture staff whose jobs are under threat in the Westcountry.

The meeting was set up by Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw after pressure from an Express and Echo campaign launched when it was revealed that up to 400 jobs may be under threat.

The jobs could go if a decision is taken to reduce the number of regional MAFF offices from 11 to between three and five. It would be part of a shake-up of the way subsidies are paid to farmers and replace 11,000 face-to-face meetings a year with e-mail communication.

But the meeting is an important development in the Save Our Jobs campaign, which has been pushing the arguments to keep the Clyst St Mary offices open.

The Minister has already received a letter from the Echo and he will be presented with a petition from staff at his meeting with a delegation of four this weekend.

Business and city council leaders are also fighting to keep the office open, fearing the local economy could lose out on £8m a year if the 100 staff handling subsidy payments lose their jobs. If that happened, the remaining 100 would be transferred to other Government offices in Bristol or Plymouth.

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