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Thu, 26 Feb 2026

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 Royal Mail bosses to be called to Parliament over letter delivery failures

It comes after hundreds of people contacted BBC Your Voice to express frustration over late deliveries.
Royal Mail executives will be summoned to Parliament to answer questions regarding issues with their letter delivery service. The Business and Trade Committee had given Royal Mail two weeks to respond to allegations that parcels were being prioritized over letters, resulting in delays for time-sensitive mail. However, committee chair Liam Byrne has decided the situation is severe enough that bosses need to provide answers to MPs. Royal Mail stated that attending the committee would allow them to discuss their efforts to transform the company. This comes after hundreds of people expressed frustration with late deliveries, including missing hospital appointments and not receiving important documents such as school certificates and bank statements. More than a dozen Royal Mail postal staff from different delivery offices claimed that rounds were being missed daily and parcels were being prioritized over letters due to capacity issues. The committee had previously given the company two weeks to respond to allegations of "chaos" in their letter delivery service. Byrne stated: "The Committee is very concerned by consistent and growing reports, and now many direct representations, about significant failures in Royal Mail's letter delivery service." He added that EP Group's takeover of Royal Mail had been approved on a promise to maintain the Universal Service Obligation. Royal Mail's head of operations at online retailer Postbox Party stated that they have changed their postage package from second-class to first-class due to delays, which has increased costs. A Royal Mail spokesperson said attending the committee would give them an opportunity to discuss their transformation efforts and implement changes to the Universal Service. The regulator Ofcom has fined Royal Mail £37m in recent years for poor letter delivery performance, calling it unacceptable.