Chief executive of Royal Mail is accused of misleading MPS

THE chief executive of Royal Mail has been accused of misleading MPS over the treatment of workers and whether the postal service puts parcels ahead of letters.

Simon Thompson is to be hauled back in front of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee following claims that he “gave answers that were not wholly correct”.

MPS recalled Mr Thompson after he denied tracking postal workers during their rounds and urging them to work faster, using the Postal Digital Assistant system.

Since his appearance the committee said it has received testimonies from Royal Mail staff who claim they have been tracked.

In a letter to Mr Thompson, Labour MP Darren Jones, the committee’s chairman, said: “I received a significant amount of correspondence from Royal Mail employees across the country, challenging some of the statements you made to the Committee. The committee is now not confident that all the answers you gave during the session were wholly accurate.”

During intense questioning last week Mr Thompson denied knowledge that Royal Mail tracked the movement of staff. He said: “No. I am not aware of technology we have in place that tells people to work more quickly. I am not aware of that at all. We do not use that technology when someone returns back to the office in any form of penal way. That is not what we do.”

Mr Jones also questioned the veracity of statements by Mr Thompson in response to questions about prioritising parcel deliveries over letters and changes to staff sick pay.

Mr Jones said: “Since Mr Thompson appeared before the committee last week we’ve had significant quantities of evidence that suggest his answers may not have been wholly correct. Giving inaccurate information to a parliamentary committee, whether by accident or otherwise, is taken very seriously. We must get to the bottom of these inconsistencies on behalf of Parliament and intend to do so during this additional hearing.”