A LOCAL politician has praised an MP for raising the issue of bank closures.

Tim Farron urged Theresa May to force banks to ‘compensate the communities they have abandoned’ during Prime Minister’s Questions last week. The Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale also asked the PM to make banks compensate fraud victims.

Mrs May, however, said banks were ‘commercial organisations and those are decisions that they take’.

There have been a number of recent bank closures in Otley and Yeadon and both towns will see their Santander offices close later this year.

The Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West, Kamran Hussain, said: “Tim Farron was right to raise the issue that is affecting residents across the UK, including residents of Otley and Yeadon. People who have been victims of financial fraud and those who have been let down by the banks deserve better.”