Jeremy Thorpe runs village shop for a week, North Devon

Oct. 10, 1966 - JEREMY THORPE'S GOOD TURN. TAKES OVER VILLAGE SHOP FOR A WEEK. It is one of the constitutional oddities of our nation that MPs cannot be sub-postmasters. So although JEREMY THORPE has taken over a village post office and stores for a week he is not allowed to sell even a dog licence. Instead Mr. Thorpe, who happens to be the Liberal Party's spokesman on the Post office - has to be content with selling chocolates and liver salts, garden spades and babies pants. he has turned shopkeeper to enable his friends Leslie and Jean Farrel to take their first holiday in ten years from their store at Landkey, near Barnstaple, which is part of his North Devon constituency. Because of the bar on MPs apparently aimed at preventing them from learning constituents secrets - a retired sub-postmaster, Mr. Ernest Sprake, is looking after the post office side of the business. PHOTO SHOWS: Liberal MP JEREMY THORPE, serving at the Village shop which he has taken over for a week

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