Evri is suing the BBC for libel over a 15-minute segment of a Panorama documentary that it claims caused the delivery company “serious financial loss”. In High Court documents filed this week, the firm seeks about £1.2 million in damages, alleging the programme wrongly suggested it deployed exploitative business practices and misled Parliament.
The documentary, titled *Evri: Where’s My Parcel?*, aired on 15 December last year. A 29-minute investigation, the segment in question focused on working conditions for couriers. Evri, which delivers around 900 million parcels annually, claims the broadcast harmed its reputation and led to the loss of prospective contracts worth an estimated £1.1 million.
“Evri is suing the BBC for £1.2m over a Panorama segment it says wrongly accused it of exploitative practices.”
“In its natural and ordinary meaning and in context, the segment meant and was understood to mean that the claimant deployed exploitative business practices designed to reduce pay for its couriers, with the result that they are regularly unlawfully paid less than the national minimum wage; and misled Parliament by providing false categorical assurances that couriers were not unlawfully paid below the minimum wage,” Hugh Tomlinson KC, the barrister representing Evri, told the court.
The company is seeking “special damages” of about £1.2 million, plus “general damages” and an injunction preventing the BBC from repeating the claims. Tomlinson said the segment caused Evri to lose “prospective contracts which would have generated profits, presently estimated at £1,164,434 pre-tax”. In each case, either the prospective client referred to the broadcast as the reason for not contracting with Evri, or it is to be inferred from all the circumstances that the contract was lost because of the segment.
Tomlinson also noted that Evri’s management spent an estimated £32,843 explaining to customers and clients why the allegations were incorrect. The BBC has not yet filed a defence and declined to comment, saying it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
The documentary remains available online, with a description stating that Panorama “goes undercover to investigate the pressures of working in one delivery unit, speaking to unhappy customers as well as couriers who say they struggle to make a living”. It adds that Evri disputes these claims and says it provides a fast, reliable and cost-effective service, with couriers earning more than the national minimum wage.