LONDON — Royal Mail is facing fresh scrutiny following whistleblower reports that staff were instructed to conceal undelivered post to artificially inflate performance metrics. The allegations suggest a systemic effort to bypass regulatory targets set by the industry watchdog, Ofcom.

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Key Points of the Allegations:

• Operational Deception: Workers claim they were told to move undelivered letters into vans or “hidden” areas of delivery offices during audits to ensure the post was not logged as “delayed.”
• Parcel Prioritization: Despite legal requirements to deliver letters six days a week, staff allege they were forced to prioritize more profitable parcels, leaving mountains of letters—including time-sensitive medical and legal documents—undelivered for weeks.
• Target Manipulation: Whistleblowers describe a “toxic” management culture where meeting statistical targets on paper was prioritized over the actual delivery of mail to the public.

The Regulatory Fallout:

The timing of these claims is critical, as Royal Mail continues to miss its 93% First Class delivery target by a wide margin. Having already been fined £21 million by Ofcom for previous failures, these new claims of “hidden mail” could lead to further investigations into whether the company has breached its Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Official Stance:

Royal Mail leadership has dismissed the claims, stating that hiding mail is not a company policy. They maintain that any delays are the result of high staff turnover and logistical challenges rather than intentional malpractice.