The parcel company Evri has taken the unusual step of suing the BBC, arguing that a flagship investigative documentary defamed it and cost it business. The claim, filed at the High Court, puts a delivery firm familiar to millions of online shoppers against Britain's public broadcaster.
The claim
Evri is seeking about £1.2m in damages from the BBC over a segment in the Panorama programme "Evri: Where's my parcel?", which aired on December 15, 2025, PA Media reported. The company says the programme wrongly suggested it "deployed exploitative business practices" and misled Parliament about how its couriers are paid. Evri's barrister, Hugh Tomlinson KC, said the broadcast conveyed that the firm used practices "designed to reduce pay for its couriers," with the result that they were "regularly unlawfully paid less than the national minimum wage," according to PA Media.
The bulk of the claim is for lost business: Evri says the coverage cost it prospective contracts, and it is seeking special damages for those losses alongside general damages and an injunction to stop the BBC repeating the allegations, PA Media reported. The company has also pointed to the cost of responding to the claims, including submitting evidence to a parliamentary committee, Bdaily reported.
Both sides
Evri rejects the documentary's portrayal, saying its couriers earn more than the national minimum wage and that it runs a "fast, reliable and cost-effective delivery service." The BBC, for its part, has not commented on the litigation, in line with its usual practice on active legal cases. A note has been added to the programme's iPlayer listing, dated July 1, saying the broadcast "is the subject of a libel claim by Evri Limited, who says it makes defamatory allegations about it," PA Media reported. The BBC has yet to file its defense.
Because these are contested allegations, it is worth being precise: what the documentary alleged, and what Evri says is false, are claims on either side that a court has not ruled on.
The company behind the claim
Evri is one of Britain's biggest parcel carriers, handling deliveries for retailers and online marketplaces across the country. It was rebranded from Hermes in 2022 after years of criticism over service and working conditions, a history that gives the dispute added edge. In 2024 the private-equity firm Apollo Global Management bought Evri from Advent International in a deal valued at about £2.7bn, PA Media reported, and the business was later combined with DHL's UK e-commerce arm.
Why it matters
The case sits at the intersection of two sensitive subjects: the gig-style working conditions common in parcel delivery, and the willingness of large companies to take news organizations to court over critical coverage. A win for Evri would sharpen the reputational stakes for investigative journalism into labor practices; a win for the BBC would affirm the latitude such reporting has long relied on. Either way, the money at issue, and the principle, make this more than a routine commercial dispute.
