Daniel Kretinsky under fire as postal workers say managers were told to hide mail
daniel kretinsky’s ownership of the postal group is facing fresh scrutiny after postal workers across the UK said line managers told staff to hide mail so delivery targets would appear met. Workers told investigators the phrase “take the mail for a ride” was used when rounds were overloaded with parcels and letters could not be delivered. The owner defended his record to MPs, apologised for late letters and disputed that prioritising parcels over letters was company policy.
Claims of hidden mail and operational pressure
Postal workers from multiple delivery offices said managers routinely arranged for undelivered letters to be moved out of sight — placed into trolleys and taken away with the intention of returning them later — so rounds looked cleared when senior managers visited. Staff described the instruction as a common response when they raised that heavy parcel volumes made it impossible to complete letter rounds as well. Ten postal workers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs; one described how mail would be put into a trolley and taken somewhere, then returned the next day.
The company has a legal obligation to deliver first-class post six days a week and said it takes claims that posties were hiding letters very seriously. It also noted that 92% of letters were delivered on time and that it runs around 100 unannounced spot checks every week to monitor reporting accuracy. Workers said, however, that there were no extra employees, overtime had been cut, and sustained pressure to deliver parcels made it often impossible to take out the post as well. The delays have affected the public, with people missing hospital appointments and one consumer now taking the bus every weekend to collect mail directly from a delivery office.
Daniel Kretinsky faces MPs over service and late mail
The owner who purchased the parent company last year for a reported £3. 6bn told MPs he was “deeply sorry” for letters that arrive late and defended the service as one “nobody else in Europe is doing. ” He told the business select committee that the company’s performance did not amount to an overall decline under his ownership and suggested some service failures were linked to extraordinary operational events. The owner acknowledged late deliveries at scale after the takeover, including a high number of Christmas letters delivered late and a stamp price rise from £1. 70 to £1. 80 since he acquired the business.
Committee chair Liam Byrne described the wider picture as serious and said the company was on track to deliver a very large number of letters late this year out of the total volume carried. The owner rejected the suggestion that prioritising parcels over letters was a formal policy, saying any such prioritisation would have been limited to crisis moments when delivery offices needed to clear blockages or respond to staff shortages.
Reactions, context and the regulator’s change
Royal Mail said it holds staff to the universal service obligation and has posted reminders in delivery offices that first-class mail must be delivered. The company listed measures it uses to monitor service performance, including the unannounced spot checks, and reiterated its legal delivery duties. The regulator will ease the Royal Mail’s targets under the universal service obligation next week, lowering the required share of first-class mail delivered within one working day to 90% and adjusting second-class targets as well; the business is currently missing even the reduced targets.
Immediate reactions were sharp. Daniel Křetínský, owner of the parent company, said: “I am deeply sorry for any letters that arrive late” and added, “This is a hard job, this is a job that nobody else in Europe is doing. ” Liam Byrne, chair of the business select committee, said: “This is not an isolated pattern, this is a national breakdown in the service. ” Royal Mail stated it takes the allegations seriously and emphasised its monitoring routines and legal obligations.
What happens next will focus on formal scrutiny by MPs and the regulator’s adjusted targets. Delivering tangible changes on the ground will hinge on staffing levels, overtime policies and whether operational checks detect the hidden-mail practice. The debate and parliamentary questioning are likely to continue, with the company under close examination while daniel kretinsky defends the business and the postal workforce presses for clearer guidance and resources.
