Britain's Royal Mail has been hit with a hefty fine for "serious breeches" of its license after large-scale thefts and poor service.
The postal company was fined 11.7 million pounds ($20.4 million), by regulator Postcomm, the Times of London said.
The regulator said that Royal Mail had fallen short on recruitment and training of agency staff and that systems designed to prevent loss, theft or damage were not working effectively.
Royal Mail has been at the center of a large number of high-profile thefts. This week Lisa Harvey, a postmistress in Plymouth, was found guilty of stealing more than 110,000 items of mail. In December Dido Mayue-Belezika, a mail worker in North London, was jailed after masterminding a stolen checkbook scam.
The regulator also said that Royal Mail had failed to use "reasonable endeavors" to deliver the post on time.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
