Royal Mail signs new four-year deal with UK Armed Forces


The Royal Mail has announced it has signed a new four-year deal worth £11m to continue the postal service delivered by the British Forces Post Office.

The agreement, signed in Royal Mail’s 500th year of operation, continues the relationship the UK postal operator has had with the British Forces Post Office for over 100 years.

The new deal is expected to mean armed forces personnel stationed all over the world can continue to take advantage of services such as the Enduring Families Free Mail Service for personnel deployed on Operations, allowing them to receive mail from the UK. The agreement, known as the Forces Mail Settlement, also allows mail and online shopping orders going to armed forces personnel overseas to be sent at inland UK prices.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques CBE, Chief of Materiel (Land) for Defence Equipment and Support, the UK MOD’s procurement organisation, said, “This deal will ensure that friends and family members can continue to support our troops overseas with letters, parcels and packages without incurring extra postage costs.

Forces Post Offices based all over the world handle service personnel’s mail while it is overseas, with the Royal Mail taking over its handling when it reaches the UK, whether at the beginning or end of its journey. Royal Mail also pays half the costs of the Enduring Families Free Mail Service.