THE minister who is responsible for standing up for Wales in the government is being called to see for herself how the passport office closure will hit the city.

Newport East AM John Griffiths said Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan might be better able to fight for jobs at the Newport institution if she understood how it will impact its workers.

The Argus is campaigning against the closure of the Newport passport office, which was announced in October.

We argue that the cuts should be spread out across the UK and not targeted at Wales.

If the move goes ahead it will result in 300 more people out of work in an area already hit by the economic crisis.

Mr Griffiths has written to the secretary of state, saying it is her responsibility to make the trip from London if she is to stand up for Newport and Wales.

“As secretary of state for Wales, Cheryl Gillan has a big responsibility to fight Wales’ corner in the UK government cabinet to protect our interests,” said Mr Griffiths yesterday.

“Given her view that reducing the number of employees from around 300 to about 30 or 40 would constitute victory and the saving of the Newport service she badly needs to understand what is currently done at the office and the range of help provided.”

He said that Conservative MP Mrs Gillan also needs to appreciate the wider social and economic impact that the closure will have on Newport and its city centre.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Office said Welsh Secretary Mrs Gillan had not received any correspondence from Mr Griffiths on this issue, but she continued to press the case for Newport passport office.

The statement added that Mrs Gillan would continue to be kept informed of developments during the consultation period.