Royal Mail 'removed parcels' ahead of MP's visit

An MP has written to the postal minister after accusing Royal Mail of a "corporate whitewash".

Labour MP for Grimsby, Melanie Onn, visited her local sorting office on 1 May following late delivery notifications from Royal Mail impacting postcodes in her constituency.

She said it all seemed "incredibly well" organised, but claimed she was later told employees had been asked to remove all letters and parcels from the depot to their vans, and to bring them back after she had gone.

In a statement, Royal Mail said: "These claims are simply not true."

Following the visit, Onn said: "It was relatively quiet as all the posties were out on their deliveries, and the management team I met with were very clear that they are aiming to make sure that all of their post is out on time."

However, while out campaigning for May's local elections, Onn said she and her team had conversations with five separate postal workers from the Grimsby depot.

"I've stopped them randomly on the street, so they haven't conferred. They haven't been prepped in any way, shape or form," she said.

"I said it was all incredibly organised, there was nothing left in any of the frames and they said, 'yes, well some of the post had been removed from those frames, and some of them were sent out of the building, but they reappeared'."

Onn claimed it was a bid to present the sorting office as organised and efficient, despite recent staffing issues.

"The wool's been pulled over my eyes," and the actions of Royal Mail could only be characterised as a "corporate whitewash", she added.

In response, Royal Mail said: "We invite MPs into our delivery offices to give them an honest view of local operations.

"In Grimsby, the visit took place in the afternoon, when mail was already out for delivery.

"Delivery offices are naturally quieter at that point in the day - that is not evidence that mail has been removed or hidden."

MPs in other parts of the country have reported similar experiences.

Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin wrote to the chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee in March stating: "I have heard stories of workers being told to conceal cluttered letters during my visit to cover up just how overstretched staff were."

Wrexham MP Andrew Ranger said: "I visited Wrexham delivery office at Christmas, as I do each year, but was unaware that Royal Mail management allegedly made the decision to hide post in advance of my visit.

"I was deeply concerned to hear about this alleged practice. Subsequently, I have met with Royal Mail representatives who assured me that this was not the case."

Wrexham councillor Marc Jones referred to the allegation during a council executive board meeting in April.

In March, the BBC reported postal workers from across the UK were being asked to move or hide mail from senior bosses so it looked like delivery targets were being met.

The minister responsible for postal services, Blair McDougall, said: "Many of the cases MPs across the country have raised fall well below the standards people would expect of their local postal service, and we know that services haven't met the expectations of customers for quite some time now."

Royal Mail told the BBC that the postal workers' claims "do not reflect how our delivery operations work".

A spokesperson denied all the claims and added: "We would take any suggestion that colleagues are hiding mail very seriously."

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