I was very disappointed to hear that the Post Office facility within the Spar supermarket in Dalrymple was closed on April 23.

This means the people of the village and surrounding areas will need to travel to Maybole or Alloway to access Post Office services.

I have written to the Post Office seeking urgent talks with them to ascertain what plans they have for the provision of future Post Office services in Dalrymple.

In the meantime, the Post Office says that any comments or questions regarding the closure can be emailed to comments@postoffice.co.uk.

On a happier ‘note’, I was pleased to see that the fabulous organisation which is the Cumnock Tryst has announced an extended programme of events as part of their tenth anniversary festival, between Wednesday, October 2 and Sunday, October 6.

More information and a full programme of events can be found at www.thecumnocktryst.com.

Recently in Parliament, I have been proud to support the campaign for compensation for victims of the contaminated blood scandal by tabling a petition urging that the Government speed up compensation for the victims.

The contaminated blood scandal began between 1970 and the early 1990s, when it is estimated that around 30,000 people were affected by infected blood and blood products whilst receiving treatment by the NHS. More than 3,000 people died after contracting HIV or hepatitis C as a result and at least 27,000 people became severely ill.

Following a public enquiry, in April 2023 it was recommend that those so affected or infected receive financial compensation. These payments have been delayed on a number of occasions, whilst around two people a week are dying before receiving any payment. I have also added my name to the @the times campaign calling on the Government to pay compensation to those concerned without further delay.

As you may be aware, as a former Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police, I have campaigned to raise the profile of the issue of justice for Yvonne Fletcher in Parliament since my election in 2019.

WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot in the back and murdered by shots fired from inside the Libyan People’s Bureau, whilst policing a political demonstration, on April 17, 1984.

No-one has ever been charged in connection with Yvonne’s murder although named suspects have been identified. Successive governments have withheld information which may have led to the criminal prosecution of those responsible for her murder.

I was privileged and humbled to take part and speak at a memorial event in London, along with more than 200 serving and former police officers from all over the country, in a recent memorial service for Yvonne to mark the 40th anniversary of her death. The Campaign for Justice for Yvonne continues.

My team continues to assist constituents with a wide range of issues, and it is always gratifying when we are successful.

One recent case involved a constituent whose Pension Credits had been stopped due to a minor change in the way their home address had been entered on a form. A small change even in the punctuation of an address can suppress payments automatically.

Happily, the payments were reinstated after my office intervened and the case successfully concluded.