NEWBRIDGE Memo lost out in the final of the Restoration show by a whisker, it was finally revealed today.

After five days, and following pressure from the Argus and others, the BBC finally said the Memo had picked up 111,015 votes against the winner's 113,334.

It means the Memo lost out on the £3 million prize to the Birmingham Old Grammar School by just 2,319 votes.

The BBC gave the total number of votes as 750,000. Howard Stone, chairman of the Friends of the Memo, told the Argus he was glad finally to have the details of the poll.

But he said he was still confused by the secrecy surrounding the details of the public vote.

Each building's result was sent to its supporters by registered post today, and it was up to them to decide whether or not to release the information. He said: "Why do they need to send the results by registered post, why couldn't they just give them out openly? It's baffling."

For the past five days, despite repeated requests from the Friends of the Memo and the Argus, the BBC said they could not release the figures for "logistical reasons". Their silence was met by reports from across South Wales that Memo supporters were unable to get through to register their vote. The BBC and BT have denied any problem with phone lines.

Islwyn AM Irene James told the Argus she has been so concerned about the secrecy that she called the BBC herself.

Yesterday the Argus revealed programme makers had also refused to confirm whether a rule allowing them to discount votes was used in Sunday's Restoration final.

But Tom Vine, of the independent Electoral Reform Society, which oversaw the phone poll, said he could assure Memo supporters the final vote was accurate.

He said: "I'm confident the vote was correct and proper." The BBC's national governor for Wales, Professor Mervyn Jones, declined to comment on the situation, deeming it an "editorial" matter.