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Royal Mail has issued a huge update as it launches an investigation over “counterfeit” stamps. Royal Mail has reportedly suspended fines for letters containing supposedly “counterfeit” stamps following complaints from people who bought them from reputable places.
The Telegraph reports that Royal Mail has now reversed its decision to charge recipients as it investigates if there is an issue. In a letter seen by The Telegraph, Kevin Hollinrake wrote: “You will be aware of concerns being expressed by parliamentary colleagues about the £5 surcharge being applied, where a number of them have claimed that they have bought stamps from legitimate sources, but which have then been identified as counterfeit by your system.
“I recognise that where fake stamps have been used, it is right that the item should be treated as though no postage has been paid, but we urge you to suspend the £5 charge in such circumstances until the wider issue is resolved where there is some uncertainty that requires further investigation, whether for senders’ individual cases or more generally.”
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David Gold, director of external affairs and policy, said: “The reality is counterfeiters are now so good at what they do that even I, and I work for Royal Mail, I can’t tell the difference just by looking at them.” Security experts have warned that the mass fraud is “economic warfare” done with the “tacit approval” of the Chinese Communist Party.
Alan Mendoza, founder of national security think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said the mass production of forged stamps damaged the British economy by “robbing businesses of revenue”. He said: “It is inconceivable that a large-scale counterfeit operation like this could be occurring without the knowledge and therefore tacit approval of the Chinese Communist Party given its strict control over the Chinese economy. As such, it’s an obvious form of economic warfare and should be called out for what it is with economic repercussions for China if it does not rein it in.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said: “Criminal law is very clear about this and I don’t understand why the police are not cracking down. The law is there to be used and these people are counterfeiters and they are as bad as counterfeiting money so treat them in the same way.”
“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?’. Because the more this goes on, the more it undermines the very nature of law and order in the UK,” he said.
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