5 September 2006 - Liberal Democrats have urged the government to take action to tackle the scale of junk mail being delivered to British households.
Junk mail is on the increase. According to Government figures the amount of junk posted through letter boxes has increased by 65 per cent since 1997. More than 21 billion pieces of junk mail are posted each year.
The figures were unearthed by Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes. Mr Baker said he wants to see a reduction in the quantity of direct mail. He said: "It is clear that voluntary efforts to reduce junk mail simply have not worked, because it is not in the interests of Royal Mail to make it work.
"Reducing junk mail requires government intervention as well as a more rigorous approach by Royal Mail. I shall be writing to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Alistair Darling) to ensure that more is done."