Outrage as China ‘behind plot to flood UK with a million fake Royal Mail stamps’ | UK | News

China is to blame for fake Royal Mail stamps flooding the market in a move branded an act of “economic warfare”, akin to “counterfeiting money”.

Royal Mail believes sheets of its genuine stamps have been sent to the country, where they are being repeatedly copied to produce a legion of counterfeits.

Insiders have warned these fakes are then being sold back to unknowing smaller businesses who buy them from wholesale firms.

The company has blamed the Communist nation for a rise in complaints that letters sent using what were thought to be legitimate stamps were flagged as fraudulent, resulting in £5 fines.

MPs and security experts have universally condemned the alleged mass production as akin to “printing counterfeit money”.

An investigation by the Daily Telegraph uncovered four major Chinese supplies behind counterfeit stamps capable of printing one million per week for as little as 4p each that can be delivered to Britain in days.

Alan Mendoza, the founder of the right-wing national security think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said the fakes have a far-reaching impact on the British economy by “robbing businesses of revenue”.

He alleged the counterfeit effort comes with the “tacit approval of the Chinese Communist Party”, citing its “strict control” over the national economy.

Conservative MP and China hawk Sir Iain Duncan Smith called for a criminal investigation, stating the act is “as bad as counterfeiting money”, and that the perpetrators should be treated “in the same way”.

He added: “We have to ensure we deal with this in a way that tells the Chinese ‘enough is enough’ and we should be saying to the Chinese embassy, ‘why aren’t you cracking down on this?’.”