Tue, 17 Feb 2026

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 Royal Mail given two weeks to respond to claims it is prioritising parcels

MPs have raised "significant concerns" about reports of "failures in service" at the company.

* Royal Mail has been given two weeks by MPs to respond to allegations that it prioritises parcel deliveries over letters, resulting in delays across the postal network.
* The Business and Trade Committee of MPs wrote a letter to the company, asking for commitments to improve what they described as "chaos" in the postal service.
* Royal Mail said it would respond to MPs in detail and acknowledged the frustration of post not arriving as expected. It claimed that parcels are only prioritised when necessary due to health and safety reasons.
* The regulator Ofcom has fined Royal Mail £37m in recent years for poor performance delivering letters, and is expecting meaningful change from the company soon.
* If Royal Mail fails to improve its service, fines from Ofcom are likely to continue.
* MPs have raised "significant concerns" about reports of failures in service that go beyond normal seasonal pressures.
* Royal Mail has admitted there are service delays in over 100 postcodes, blaming storms and higher rates of illness among staff.
* The company is privately owned by a Czech billionaire following a recent takeover and is legally required to deliver letters every day in most areas.
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