Royal Mail boss to be grilled in parliament again

JESS JONES

ROYAL MAIL boss Simon Thompson has been recalled to parliament after facing allegations that he gave inaccurate information to MPs during a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee last week.

The Committee, which took place last Tuesday to discuss Royal Mail’s operations amid extended industrial action, prompted a “significant amount” of Royal Mail employees to submit evidence contrary to Thompson’s answers.

In a damning letter published yesterday, Committee chair Darren Jones ordered Thompson to return for another hearing to provide further evidence.

Commenting on what triggered the recall, Jones said BEIS received “significant quantities of evidence that suggest his answers may not have been correct”.

“Giving inaccurate information to a parliamentary committee, whether by accident or otherwise, is taken very seriously,” he said. “We must get to the bottom of these inconsistencies on behalf of parliament and intend to do so during this additional hearing.”

The BEIS Committee challenged Thompson on several matters that he denies regarding allegations that the Postal Digital Assistant system is used to unfairly pressurise employees and that Royal Mail prioritises parcels over letters.

According to the letter, Thompson said during the Committee that he was “not aware of technology we have in place that tells people to work more quickly. I am not aware of that at all”. However, BEIS claimed it had received evidence suggesting this statement was incorrect.

Jones’ letter also drew attention to a poster which instructed delivery office employees to prioritise parcels.

Thompson refuted the idea, saying letters were equally important and the poster was “dealt with”, however Royal Mail employees argued the poster was “not a one-off”.

The BEIS Committee also had concerns over Thompson’s comments on employee sick pay arrangements.

Royal Mail was approached for comment.