Royal Mail has been branded ‘a national institution in meltdown’ as its new owner faces questioning in Parliament over its dismal performance.
Billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – who bought the 500-year-old group’s parent company International Distribution Services last year for £3.6billion – is due to be quizzed by MPs on the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday.
The hearing comes after a report by the committee this month found just 74.9 per cent of First Class post was delivered on time between April 2025 and January 2026.
That is well below the target of 93 per cent – and translates into around 126million First Class letters arriving late over the year or 219million if the nearly 10 per cent of Second Class letters that arrive late are included, the committee said.
Kretinsky, dubbed the Czech Sphinx, is likely to be quizzed on the delivery figures as well as claims Royal Mail is prioritising its more lucrative parcel service over letters – leading to post from medical appointments to birthday cards being missed.
While Royal Mail faces criticism for failing to hit delivery targets, the price of post has soared with First Class stamps rising again to £1.80 on April 7.
A book of eight First Class stamps will then cost £14.40 – up from £6.08 in 2020 when a single stamp cost 76p.
Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the business committee, said: ‘Royal Mail is a national institution in meltdown. When barely three quarters of First Class letters arrive on time, that’s a failure costing families and small businesses up and down the nation.
'The question for the new owners is simple: will they fix the service and meet their obligations in full - or allow standards to slide while the rules are rewritten around failure? The public were promised a service they could rely on. It’s time to restore it.’
Royal Mail points to separate figures showing 92 per cent of all letters are delivered on time.
A spokesman said: ‘Attending the Business and Trade Committee will give us the opportunity to discuss the work we are doing to transform Royal Mail and the urgent need to implement changes to the universal service to deliver the services our customers want and ensure we are financially sustainable for the long term.
‘We recognise there is more to do to deliver a consistently high level of service everywhere. Recent quality of service figures show 5.8 billion letters, which equates to 92 per cent of letters, are delivered on time.’