Whistl van LR

Mystery surrounds the strange case of a bag of post found dumped in a river earlier this year, after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) confirmed it had dropped its enquiry into the matter while the police told The Hub it had no record of the incident.

Following the discovery of the post in north London back in April, Whistl – previously known as TNT Post – said it had conducted an internal investigation, dismissed the employee responsible and alerted the police, as interfering with post or intentionally delaying it is a crime under the Postal Services Act.

The ICO confirmed at the time that it was looking into the incident as it might have involved an alleged breach by the company of the Data Protection Act.

Earlier this month, however, the ICO told us the case had been “closed with the decision that no further action was necessary”. It declined to provide any explanation of its decision, or provide any account of what exactly it had been looking into over the last seven months.

Curiously, Whistl has confirmed that during this period, the ICO never contacted it about the matter.

A freedom of information (FOI) request seeking more information on the nature and outcome of the ICO enquiry has now been submitted, a response to which is expected soon.

Meanwhile our enquiries with the Metropolitan Police about the course of its investigation into the employee responsible for dumping the post have also drawn a blank.

A spokesman for the force told us this week it had no record of the incident ever being officially reported by TNT Post or investigated by the Met - though he admitted this might conceivably be down to a “database error”.

A Whistl spokesman, however, confirmed to us this week that the matter was reported in person to police in Colindale by Whistl personnel at the time; that the police interviewed the suspect and subsequently charged them; and that it understands a trial date is currently awaited.

Watch this space…