Royal Mail denies hiding undelivered post from MP visiting sorting office

Royal Mail has been accused of hiding undelivered post from an MP visiting a delivery office.

Wrexham councillor Marc Jones made the allegation during an executive board meeting this week.

It follows residents' claims delayed deliveries have caused them to miss hospital appointments.

Royal Mail denied management kept post from Labour's Andrew Ranger, the MP for Wrexham, when he dropped in over Christmas.

Jones said: "I've been told that when the local MP visited Wrexham sorting office, because I think this is a specific problem in Wrexham, that the mail was concealed by management from the MP.

"Now, it's a very serious allegation, and I'm taking the word of people who were there, but we really do need to get to the bottom of this."

After the meeting Ranger said he had been unaware Royal Mail had, allegedly, hidden post from him.

"If this is correct, I am deeply concerned about this practice, and I will be contacting the sorting office," he said.

Ranger welcomed Wrexham council's decision to challenge Royal Mail on its performance.

Residents and postal workers had contacted him, Ranger said, about delivery problems which he had raised with UK government business minister Blair McDougall.

"I am pleased that Wrexham County Borough Council has now added its weight behind the issue," he said.

"The more of us that call out Royal Mail for their actions and their continual service failures that affect the people of Wrexham, the better."

Royal Mail said independently verified figures showed 99% of items posted by the last recommended posting dates were delivered in time for Christmas.

It added that it understood it was concerning when letters did not arrive "as expected".

"Currently in north Wales 84.8% of first class letters are delivered the next working day, with the remainder arriving in the days that follow," a spokesperson said.

"Across the UK, around 92% of all letters are delivered on time and 99.4% arrive within a week, meaning longer delays are rare.

"While the vast majority of mail is delivered as expected, there can be short-term, localised issues which we work quickly to resolve."