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Watch Panorama's undercover filming: "You'll make no money my friend unless you get all your parcels out. Get them all out."
When Becky ordered a Barbie doll for her daughter, she got a notification from delivery firm Evri saying it had arrived. There was just one problem: it was nowhere to be seen.
There was no parcel at her front door, in the Hampshire village of Twyford, and the photo she was sent of its location was not one she recognised.
Becky turned detective - and she discovered that reports of similar incidents nearby had "snowballed".
Around the corner, her neighbour Jonathan had received a similar notification. It showed a photo of a parcel of tools he was expecting - taken inside a car - but nothing had been delivered. He tried to take it up with Evri, but told BBC Panorama that "they don't respond - it's very frustrating".
"You feel like you're playing Russian roulette" as to whether the parcel is going to arrive, says customer Becky
With millions relying on delivery companies to send their parcels this Christmas, we have been investigating Evri, including sending a journalist undercover as a courier.
The company is a market leader, but a recent customer survey of the 11 biggest delivery firms by industry regulator, Ofcom, suggested Evri had the most issues for parcels not being delivered and the highest level of customer dissatisfaction.
Amazon and FedEx came top for customer satisfaction.
While Evri disputes Ofcom's findings, 30 current and former workers have told us problems are being caused by growing pressures on couriers."They have to deliver so much volume now for a decent pay," one told us.
The link between poor service and work pressures was further borne out by Panorama's investigation, which found:
Couriers at an Evri depot in the Midlands describing how to cut corners to complete deliveries on time - with one telling our undercover reporter: "You can even throw the parcel at the back door"
Changes to Evri's pay rates have led some workers to claim they are earning less than minimum wage
New, lower pay rates for so-called "small packets" were also affecting courier earnings, we were told
Larger items being "misbanded" as small packets, some couriers told us, including heavy flatpack furniture and radiators
In Hampshire, parcels started to go missing in Twyford six months after a regular courier, Dave, left Evri. He worked as an Evri courier for six years, often with his wife, and they earned about £60,000 a year between them.
Like all Evri couriers, Dave was self-employed. But, because Evri pays couriers by the parcel, and sets the rate per parcel, it felt like the company was in the driving seat.
Changes to Evri's parcel rates last January, meant it no longer made financial sense to carry on, Dave told us. It would have led to him being paid less than the minimum wage, he says.
The amount Evri couriers are paid depends on the size and weight of the parcels they deliver and how far they must travel.
Couriers like Dave, who was on an Evri Plus contract, are supposed to be guaranteed at least the National Minimum Wage - currently £12.21 per hour for those aged 21 and over.
Dave says he estimated that with Evri's changes, including a new "small packets" rate, he would earn £10 an hour.
"You were always looking over your shoulder, wondering what might come next in terms of reducing your rates," he told us. "So that you're paid less for what you're doing even though you're doing the same job."
Another Evri Plus courier told Panorama he could earn as little as £7 or £8 an hour at times, once fuel and his vehicle's running costs had been taken into account.
If I had accepted the pay cut, I would have been earning "well below minimum wage", says ex-Evri driver Dave
This shouldn't be happening - according to what Evri's legal director, Hugo Martin, told a parliamentary select committee in January. The company's paid-per-parcel model, he told MPs, made sure that "couriers earn well above national minimum wage".
The committee chair, Labour's Liam Byrne, has now told Panorama that because of the "categorical assurances" that people were not paid below the minimum wage, the company should now be recalled to Parliament to investigate the full picture.
His comments come as a separate, cross-party group of MPs expressed their own concerns about Evri's delivery record last week.
Evri gave us "categorical assurances that people were not paid below the minimum wage", says Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Trade Committee at Westminster
We put Mr Byrne's comments to Evri and a spokesperson said company couriers "generate earnings significantly above the National Living Wage".
The National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage are currently the same for anyone aged over 21 - £12.21 an hour.
Average courier earnings, the Evri spokesperson continued, "exceeded £20 an hour". The "sector is highly competitive, but we benchmark pay locally", they added.
Small packets, small fees
It wasn't just Dave who told us the introduction of Evri's "small packets" has made it harder to make a living.
Other couriers told us they had started to see more of them in their rounds, and that it was eating into their earnings because they received less money to deliver them.
Rates vary, but Evri pays couriers as little as 35p to deliver one.
The company told us it had introduced the new "small packets" sizing in January to "remain competitive".
However, big parcels, for which couriers would be paid more per delivery, keep getting mislabelled as small packets, some couriers told the BBC.
Getty Images
Evri introduced "small packets" parcel size in January - which it can pay couriers as little as 35p to deliver
Evri does not do enough to check the items are being accurately weighed and measured by senders, they said - with heavy flatpack furniture and radiators listed as examples of large items which had been "misbanded" and paid for as small packets.
One courier told us he delivered "countless numbers of misbands", leaving him short-changed.
Parcels are labelled by clients, not Evri, the company told the BBC. It said that 99.2% of all parcels were correctly banded - and that "couriers can request checks and upgrades via the courier app, if they think a parcel has been misbanded".
'There's a safe space for everything, mate'
An Evri courier of 10 years told us their colleagues were "cutting corners" because they had to deliver so much in terms of volume to get a decent wage.
"They are not doing the job correctly… parcels go missing," he added. "Piles of parcels are found in hedges."
Our undercover reporter, who we are calling Sam because he wants to remain anonymous, was told by another courier, "if you want to earn money, you need to find a safe place and leave it there".
"You can even throw the parcel at the back door, you only get paid if the parcel is delivered," the courier explained during Sam's six-day stint in October at Evri's West Hallam delivery unit near Nottingham.
As a new starter, Sam was put on a Flex contract, which does not include sick or holiday pay and does not commit to paying the minimum wage, unlike the Plus contract.
It can be difficult for new starters to earn the same as more experienced couriers, as they don't know their patch, so they won't be as efficient.
Sam was told he could be eligible for some extra cash. New starters get payments to ensure they earn adequately while they get used to the work, Evri's lawyers told the BBC.
Couriers told us they are not paid extra for the time it takes to scan the parcels and load them into their vehicles at depots - but Evri says it factors this time into its parcel rates.
"You only get paid if the parcel is delivered. Never take it back," said one courier
Couriers are also only paid if a package is delivered and a photograph is taken - which is supposed to mean giving it to the customer, a neighbour, or finding a safe place, and not leaving it in plain sight outside the delivery address.
If drivers cannot deliver a parcel, they should make at least two more attempts to do so - according to Evri rules - but this takes time.
Back at the depot, a courier told Sam there was not much point trying to redeliver because couriers did not get paid for going back.
"You'll make no money, my friend, unless you get all your parcels out. Get them all out," he said. "There's a safe space for everything, mate."
You can deliver 50 parcels an hour on a round, a supervisor tells our undercover reporter
The company says it will deliver about 900 million parcels this year, going to almost every single home in the UK.
But 7% of customers in the six months between January and July said they had reported an Evri parcel not having been delivered - compared to an industry average of 4% - according to Ofcom's recent consumer survey.
The survey also suggested Evri had the most issues for delays in the UK, with 14% of customers reporting a parcel arriving late in the same period. The industry average is 8%, says Ofcom.
Evri told us it provides "a fast, reliable, and cost-effective delivery service" and that its "couriers are local people… and the vast majority do an excellent job and strictly follow our delivery standards".
If "a courier receives a low customer rating for a delivery, this is immediately investigated", it says.
The company, which rebranded from Hermes UK in 2022, has been owned since last year by the American investment firm Apollo Global Management. In the financial year 2023-24, Evri's pre-tax profit almost doubled to nearly £120m.
"I think Evri are making a fortune off the couriers' backs and I think the couriers are being totally ripped off," one courier told us.
For Becky and Jonathan in Hampshire, at least, all was not lost.
Becky started a spreadsheet for other people in the area to list their missing Evri parcels, after seeing how many comments were being left on the village Facebook group.
Almost 90 incidents were reported to the police. A man was arrested but never charged.
Lawyers for Evri told the BBC that this was an isolated incident and that the company took prompt action.
"The performance of our couriers is tracked in real time, with mandatory photo proof for every delivery," the company said.
Becky got a refund from the seller and bought a new Barbie, and Jonathan got his tools replaced by the seller.
Police inspect a bridge used by the gunmen as a firing-point
Two gunmen - identified by authorities as a father and son - opened fire on hundreds of people marking a Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 and leaving 27 in hospital with injuries.
The father was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene while the son is in hospital with critical injuries.
Among the victims of the country's worst mass shooting in decades, which targeted Jewish people and is being treated as a terrorist incident, are a 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor and two rabbis.
The attackers are both said to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic Sate group. Here is what we know about them.
Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke confirmed the relationship between the two gunmen without naming them.
Australian public broadcaster ABC did name them as Naveed Akram, 24 - who is in hospital under police guard - and his dead father Sajid Akram, 50.
Burke indicated the father held permanent residency in Australia, without giving details of his nationality.
The minister said he arrived in the country on a student visa in 1998. Later, in 2001, he transferred to a partner visa and subsequently obtained Resident Return Visas after trips overseas.
The son, he said, is an Australian-born citizen.
'Allegiance to Islamic State'
The son first came to the attention of the Australian intelligence agency (ASIO) in 2019, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.
"He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence," the prime minister said.
Albanese said the two gunmen had acted alone and were not part of a wider extremist cell. They had, he said, been "clearly" motivated by "extremist ideology".
Two IS flags were found in the men's car at Bondi, senior officials told ABC, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A senior JCTT official, again speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ASIO had taken an interest in Naveed Akram in 2019 after police foiled plans for an IS attack.
Naveed Akram, the official said, was "closely connected" to Isaac El Matari, who was jailed in 2021 for seven years in Australia for terrorist offences.
Matari had declared himself the IS commander for Australia.
Firearms licence
The gunmen appear to have used long-barrelled guns during the attack, firing them from a small bridge.
A number of improvised explosive devices were also found in the gunmen's car, Albanese said.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the force had recovered six firearms from the scene and confirmed that six firearms had been licensed to the father.
Sajid Akram had met the eligibility for a firearms licence for recreational hunting, Commissioner Lanyon said.
"In terms of a firearms licence, the firearms registry conducts a thorough examination of all applications to ensure a person is fit and proper to hold a firearms licence," he said.
Eligibility for a game hunting licence in NSW depends on the type of animal individuals wish to hunt, the reason for hunting and the land they want to hunt on.
'Normal people'
Watch: BBC's Katy Watson reports from Bondi gunmen's house
Naveed and Sajid Akram lived in the south-west Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg, about an hour's drive inland from Bondi.
A few weeks before Sunday's shooting, the two men moved into an Airbnb in the suburb of Campsie, a drive of 15 to 20 minutes.
Three people at the house in Bonnyrigg were arrested overnight during a police raid but released without charge and brought back to the property.
BBC News tried to approach them on Monday but they would not come out to speak to the media.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a woman who identified herself as the wife and mother of the gunmen had told them on Sunday evening that the pair had said they were going on a fishing trip before heading to Bondi
Reuters news agency describes Bonnyrigg as a working-class, well-kept enclave with an ethnically diverse population.
Local residents told the agency that the Akram family had kept to themselves but seemed like any other in the suburb.
"I always see the man and the woman and the son," said Lemanatua Fatu, 66. "They are normal people."
'Not everyone who recites the Quran understands it'
Naveed Akram studied the Quran and Arabic language for a year at Al Murad Institute in western Sydney after applying in late 2019, ABC reports.
Institute founder Adam Ismail said the Bondi shooting was a "horrific shock" and such attacks were forbidden in Islam.
"What I find completely ironic is that the very Quran he was learning to recite clearly states that taking one innocent life is like killing all of humanity," he said on Monday.
"This makes it clear that what unfolded yesterday at Bondi is completely forbidden in Islam. Not everyone who recites the Quran understands it or lives by its teachings, and sadly that appears to be the case here."
Supporters of José Antonio Kast celebrated his victory
Chile is perceived by many of its neighbours in the Latin American region as a safer, more stable haven.
But inside the country, that perception has unravelled as voters worried about security, immigration and crime chose José Antonio Kast to be their next president.
Kast is a hardline conservative who has praised General Augusto Pinochet, Chile's former right-wing dictator whose US-backed coup ushered in 17 years of military rule marked by torture, disappearances and censorship.
To his critics, Kast's family history, including his German-born father's membership in the Nazi Party and his brother's time as a minister under Pinochet, is unsettling.
However, some of Kast's supporters openly defend Pinochet's rule, arguing that Chile was more peaceful then.
In a nod to Chile's past and to accusations levelled at other right-wing leaders in the region after they imposed military crackdowns on organised crime, the 59-year-old pledged in his first speech as president-elect that his promise to lead an "emergency government" would not mean "authoritarianism".
Sunday's election makes Chile the latest country in Latin America to decisively swing from the left to the right, following Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador and Panama.
Peru, Colombia and Brazil face pivotal elections next year.
Kast's victory places Chile within a growing bloc of conservative governments likely to align with US President Donald Trump, particularly on migration and security.
In some cases, like that of Argentina, inflation and economic crisis drove the shift. In others, it was a backlash against leftist governments mired in corruption or infighting.
In Chile, immigration and crime seemed to swing it.
Kast promised a border wall and mass deportations of undocumented migrants.
At rallies, he counted down the days until the inauguration and warned that those without papers should leave by then if they wanted the chance to ever return.
His message resonated in a country which has seen a rapid growth in its foreign-born population. Government figures show that by 2023 there were nearly two million non-nationals living in Chile, a 46% increase from 2018.
The government estimates about 336,000 undocumented migrants live in Chile, many from Venezuela.
The speed of that change has unsettled many Chileans.
"Chile was not prepared to receive the wave of immigration it did," says Jeremías Alonso, a Kast supporter who volunteered to mobilise young voters during the campaign.
He rejects critics' accusations that Kast's rhetoric amounts to xenophobia.
"What Kast is saying is that foreigners should come to Chile, let them come to work, but they should enter properly through the door, not through the window," he says, arguing that undocumented migrants are a strain on taxpayer-funded public services.
He says his working-class neighbourhood has experienced "the social changes that irregular immigration brings in terms of crime, drug addiction and security".
Jeremías Alonso supported José Antonio Kast in the election
Kast has blamed rising crime on immigration, an allegation that resonates politically even as the number of murders has fallen since peaking in 2022, and despite some studies suggesting migrants commit fewer crimes on average.
Many voters cite organised crime, drug trafficking, thefts and carjackings as contributing towards their sense of insecurity.
Kast's victory message is that migrants will be welcome if they comply with the law, criminals will be locked up and order will return to the streets.
He, like Trump, is expected to move quickly to demonstrate an "iron fist" approach, deploying the military to the border and probably promoting his crackdown through social media.
But in practice, large-scale deportations will be difficult.
Venezuela does not accept deportees from Chile and deportations have so far been limited.
Kast seems to hope his rhetoric will encourage irregular migrants to leave voluntarily. But this is unlikely to compel hundreds of thousands to pack up.
Gabriel, who is from Venezuela, felt hurt by comments diners made about migrants
For irregular migrants already in Chile, the future feels uncertain.
Gabriel Funez, a Venezuelan waiter, moved to Chile four years ago, crossing the land border irregularly to escape his country's "very, very bad economic situation".
He has since submitted his documents to police and immigration authorities and received a temporary ID so he can pay taxes but has so far had no response to his visa request.
His salary is currently being paid into a friend's bank account. "I'm basically a ghost here," he says.
While he fears deportation, his bigger concern is a rise in xenophobia, which he says has already increased.
"Kast is expressing what many Chileans want to express. He's validating it," he said.
He recalls how at the restaurant where he works, he served diners who were discussing how migrants should leave.
"It was uncomfortable. I'm a foreigner, and I'm hearing all those super hurtful words."
He explains that about 90% percent of the restaurant's staff are migrants.
With migrants increasingly key to Chilean businesses, Kast could come up against opposition from those relying on foreign labour for their business.
Carlos Alberto Cossio, a Bolivian national who has lived in Chile for 35 years, runs a business making and delivering salteñas, savoury Bolivian pastries.
Carlos Alberto Cossio says migrant workers are key to his business
He says he has often employed workers from Haiti, Colombia and Venezuela and insists that "the migrant workforce is very important".
He explains that migrants are eager to work and less likely to change jobs as they rely on their employer for a contract visa until they are issued with a permanent visa.
"Many companies, especially in fruit harvesting, employ migrant workers who are not necessarily registered," he adds.
Expelling unregistered workers "will impact Chile's export economy and make raw materials more expensive," he warns.
Mr Cossio acknowledges that there has been some friction since large numbers of migrants arrived from Venezuela to escape the economic and political crisis there.
"Many of the customs they have brought haven't been compatible with Chilean customs," he says, lamenting how this has damaged the reputation of migrants who want to work and contribute.
Mr Kast's party lacks a majority in Congress, meaning some of his proposals, from tougher sentencing to maximum-security prisons, may require compromise and negotiation.
But for many voters, the perception of control may matter just as much as delivering results as anxiety over crime, insecurity and migration is sweeping the continent.
Two people have been found dead at a home in Los Angeles identified by authorities as the residence of director and actor Rob Reiner, authorities say.
Firefighters were called to a house in Brentwood on Sunday afternoon, where they found the bodies of a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman who were pronounced dead at the scene, the LA Fire Department said.
Authorities did not immediately identify them or the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Rob Reiner is 78 and his wife, Michele, is 68.
Reiner is a storied Hollywood filmmaker whose movies include classics such as The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and This is Spinal Tap.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Experts say the climate crisis is in part responsible for the extreme weather fluctuations
Flash floods have killed at least 37 people in Morocco's coastal Safi region, according to state-owned television.
Cars and mounds of rubbish were seen sweeping through the main port city of Safi after torrential rain hit on Sunday.
Dozens of people have been receiving treatment in hospital for their injuries, say local authorities, and at least 70 homes have been inundated in the old city centre.
Local reports say access to and from the city is blocked on certain roads because of damage and debris.
Residents on Sunday described it as a dark day, with one telling the AFP news agency: "I've lost all my clothes. Only my neighbour gave me some to cover myself. I have nothing left. I've lost everything."
Another survivor said he wanted to see government trucks at the scene to pump out the water.
Moroccan authorities say search and rescue missions are still under way.
Experts say the climate crisis is in part responsible for the extreme weather fluctuations seen in the North African state.
It has suffered seven years of drought in a row, depleting its reservoirs.
Last year was officially the hottest ever on record.
This latest, sudden downpour is expected to continue on Tuesday together with snowfall across the Atlas mountains, Morocco's weather service warns.
Democrats are mourning the death of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner after they were found dead in their California home on Sunday. The Hollywood star was known not only for classic films like “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally,” but for his outspoken support of progressive causes.
Former President Barack Obama said he and Michelle Obama were “heartbroken” by the news. Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Reiner “fought for America’s democracy.” And former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called him “remarkable and excellent” in everything he pursued.
“Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,” Obama said in a statement. “But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired.”
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer called the news of the Reiners’ death “horrific.”
“Not only was Rob an incredibly talented actor & director, he was also a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share,” Schumer said. “He will be missed dearly. My prayers this morning are with the Reiner family and all those who loved his movies and what he and Michele stood for.”
“Personally, Rob cared deeply about people and demonstrated that in his civic activities — whether by supporting the First 5 initiative or fighting against Prop 8 in California,” said Pelosi, referring to the California Children and Families Commission, which supports programs for children under 5 years old. Proposition 8 was California’s 2008 ballot proposal to ban same-sex marriage.
Pelosi continued, “Civically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.”
Reiner and Singer Reiner’s bodies were discovered in their Los Angeles home on Sunday after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to The Associated Press.
Authorities are investigating their deaths as an “apparent homicide,” said. Capt. Mike Bland of the Los Angeles Police Department. Police are continuing to investigate the deaths.
The son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner was a strong supporter of LGTBQ+ rights and early childhood education. Reiner often held fundraisers and campaigned for Democratic issues. In 2008, he co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriage. In 1998, as chair of the campaign for the state’s Proposition 10, which led to the creation of the First 5 initiative, Reiner advocated for funding early childhood development services with a tax on tobacco products.
He was also a sharp critic of President Donald Trump, previously accusing the president of “treason” and being “mentally unfit” to serve in office. In an October interview with MSNBC, now MS NOW, Reiner compared the current political climate under the Trump administration as “beyond McCarthy era-esque.”
“Make no mistake: We have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy and democracy completely leaves us," Reiner said at the time. “I believe the way to stop it is to educate people who may not understand what democracy is. They may not know what the impact of losing it is. We have to explain it, us storytellers have to explain to them what they’re going to wind up with if an autocrat has his way."
“Rob Reiner's work has impacted generations of Americans,” she said. “The characters, dialogue, and visuals he brought to life in film and television are woven throughout our culture. Rob loved our country, cared deeply about the future of our nation, and fought for America's democracy.”
“His boundless empathy made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see goodness and righteousness in others — and encouraging us to dream bigger,” said Newsom in a statement. “That empathy extended well beyond his films. Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights — from taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality, to serving as a powerful voice in early education. He made California a better place through his good works.”
Newsom added that Reiner will be remembered for his “extraordinary contribution to humanity.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the Reiners’ deaths a “devastating loss” for both the city and the nation.
“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said in a post on X.
With schools nationwide easing into the holidays, hackers may see the lull in activity as a window of opportunity to strike an already-vulnerable sector.
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