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The daughters of a man who was murdered while delivering parcels say no-one should have to be afraid to go to work.

Cara and Elena Lang are calling for better safety measures to protect delivery drivers after their father was killed in March 2023.

The sisters sat in court as Christopher El Gifari, 31, was sentenced to life for murder while stealing Mark Lang’s parcel delivery van.

Delivery firms said staff safety is taken “very seriously”.

The Royal Mail is pausing the £5 penalty it was charging to anyone receiving a letter with a fake stamp.

After a surge in fakes in circulation earlier this year, many people said they had not known they were purchasing counterfeits.

The postage firm said it would re-impose the charge after it has introduced an online scanner, currently in development, which will allow customers to determine if a stamp is genuine.

Some small retailers have also purchased fraudulent stamps and resold them.

The Royal Mail said that it had seized 1.5 million fake stamps. 

With the help of law enforcement agencies, it has also taken down thousands of online listings selling counterfeit stamps.

The moves came after a surge in complaints about fake stamps, and after an investigation by The Telegraph that found four Chinese companies had offered to print up to one million counterfeit stamps a week, with each stamp being sold for as little as 4p each before being sent to the UK.

Royal Mail said it conducts test purchases in hotspot areas where customers have reported suspected sales of counterfeit stamps. 

On Monday, Royal Mail said that as part of its efforts to reduce the number of counterfeit stamps it was adding a new independent expert to its “highly trained team of specialists” that investigates customer complaints over stamps’ authenticity.

Royal Mail will also be seeking partnerships with retailers and online marketplaces to collaborate in tackling the problem and raise awareness.

There will be a focus on trying to charge the sender, who is responsible for acquiring the fraudulent stamp, rather than the recipient. 

Stickers will be applied to items to advise the recipient that the stamp used has been scanned and found to be a counterfeit.

Despite the recent spate of counterfeits, chief commercial officer of Royal Mail, Nick Landon, said that since February 2022 – when barcoded stamps were introduced – there had been a massive reduction in counterfeiting.

“The combination of new barcoded stamps with added security features and Royal Mail actively working with retailers, online marketplaces and law enforcement authorities, has led to a 90% reduction in counterfeit stamps,” he said.

Royal Mail has asked customers to look out for stamps with an unusually shiny surface, unusual colouration or inaccurate perforations – although many counterfeits can still avoid those telltale signs.

It advised customers to buy stamps only from big reputable sellers and to avoid buying stamps from online retailers, unless it is from the official Royal Mail website.

Grocery delivery firm Getir has said it will be leaving the UK, Europe and the US to focus on its core market in Turkey where it generates the bulk of its revenue.

It comes after a long period of speculation that its UK operations were in financial trouble.

The firm said only 7% of its revenue was generated in those markets which it is now leaving.

It brings to an end the company’s rapid expansion across Europe, which saw almost 23,000 jobs created in the region over three years.

Getir added that it sees the biggest potential for long-term growth in its home market of Turkey.

Since its entry into the UK in 2021, Getir had grown to become a multi-billion pound food delivery firm in just a few years.

With its distinctive purple and yellow logo, the company, like many delivery services, grew after Covid lockdowns changed shopping habits and many people avoided in-person shopping. Its unique selling point was that it was “ultra fast”, delivering food and drink on scooters in under 20 minutes.

Getir confirmed that FreshDirect, its US subsidiary, will continue its operations. It added that it had raised investment from Mubadala – an Abu Dhabi investment fund – and US company G Squared to fund its exit from the Western market.

“Getir expresses its sincere appreciation for the dedication and hard work of all its employees in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the US,” the firm said in a short statement.

In 2022, as Getir celebrated its first anniversary in the UK, it hailed its first year as a “blockbuster”, calling itself a “market leader” that had created 4,000 permanent jobs in cities including London, Manchester, Portsmouth and Birmingham. At the time, it also pledged to create 10,000 jobs by the end of 2022.

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