Oxford East MP Andrew Smith was today holding talks with the head of Royal Mail in the city to demand answers about continuing poor service.

Mr Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, was meeting area general manager Michael Stockdale, after the MP's office was flooded with complaints about the postal system in the city.

"The postal service in Oxford has been appalling, as everybody knows," said Mr Smith.

"I want a proper explanation of their understanding of the problems and what they are doing to put it right.

"There needs to be a convincing commitment that my constituents are going to get a proper service in the future."

Mr Smith said he had received complaints about wrong deliveries, people not receiving benefit payments or prescriptions and letters being lost or dumped.

He added: "I want to see the measures that are being taken to improve the service area by area.

"These problems are as hard for workers, who are trying to provide a quality service, as they are for unhappy customers."

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "We are meeting with the MP and will obviously listen to his concerns and respond directly to him at that meeting."

Earlier this month the Oxford Mail carried out a spot-check on letters sent to and from its offices. One in five failed to arrive on time. Mr Stockdale admitted it was still failing to meet targets -- six weeks after apologising for poor service and promising efficient delivery.

He said: "We do acknowledge that our performance in Oxford is below target and we would offer our apologies to any customer who is experiencing problems."