Thompson was a non-executive director of Royal Mail until May, 2023 when he resigned from the role following industrial action that took place in response to a cost-cutting and restructuring plan.
Despite the financial impact caused by Thompson's failure to reach a settlement with the CWU during the company's busiest period, he received a payout of approximately £257,000.
[7] In 2023, as Royal Mail's CEO, Thompson appeared twice before the UK parliament's business, energy and industrial strategy select committee (BEIS).
[12] As a result of public concerns raised to the BEIS committee, in January 2024, OFCOM published a report on Royal Mail quality of service.
They concluded that "in the evidence we assessed, we did not identify any suggestion that Royal Mail's senior management had directed the prioritization of parcels over letters outside of recognized contingency plans".