NZ probes new Royal Mail deputy executive

Elmar Toime, who has just been appointed deputy executive chairman of Royal Mail, was investigated by the New Zealand public accounts watchdog for failing to deal with financial impropriety in the postal organisation he ran. Mr Toime, who, together with new Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier, will be Britain’s best-paid public servant, was chief executive of New Zealand Post when its subsidiary Transend was investigated for “wasteful and excessive spending” on expenses. As such, he was one of the executive members of the Transend board. A report, commissioned from Price Waterhouse Coopers by New Zealand Post’s directors, investigated the allegations of impropriety, prior to the watchdog’s involvement. It uncovered a number of instances where senior staff at Transend, the overseas division of NZ Post, spent extravagantly on eating, drinking, and hotel rooms. These included an instance when a member of staff upgraded his hotel room in London to one costing pounds 355 a night because it had a view of Hyde Park. The watchdog’s report, published this month, concluded that New Zealand Post had now put appropriate arrangements in place concerning Transend’s expenses policy. Mr Toime will join Royal Mail early next year, on a basic salary of pounds 500,000 plus performance-related bonus. Royal Mail said yesterday that the investigation was a matter for New Zealand Post.