Royal Mail fined £21m by Ofcom for missing delivery targets

Royal Mail ‘must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency’, said Ofcom’s director of enforcement. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Alamy

Royal Mail has been fined £21m for missing its annual delivery targets for first- and second-class mail, leading to millions of letters arriving late across the UK, according to the regulator Ofcom.

This is the third time the 509-year-old postal service has been fined by the communications watchdog, and the third-biggest financial penalty Ofcom has ever issued to any company.