'Stamp' of Leeds council leader's face used on postcard

The postcard used an image of Councillor Lewis in place of a stamp

A council leader received a postcard with a small picture of his face used in place of a postage stamp.

James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council and Labour councillor for Kippax and Methley, said the anonymous card was about a genuine council issue.

He said it "made him chuckle" when he realised it had been franked and delivered to his address.

Royal Mail said whether it was a joke or not, using a counterfeit stamp was against the law.

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A spokesperson said: "Royal Mail takes the necessary steps to protect stamp revenues which help to fund the Universal Postal Service which serves circa 30 million households and businesses across the UK.

"We will seek to prosecute where we find someone has created counterfeit stamps or knowingly sold used stamps for re-use.

The card was written about a genuine issue, but sent anonymously

"This matter is being investigated by our security team."

Mr Lewis's post on Twitter read: "A resident has stuck a small picture of my face where a postage stamp should go on a post card and @RoyalMail have franked and delivered it to me."

Replies included he was now the "king of Leeds" and "frankly legal tender".

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I actually live in my council ward and occasionally people do hand deliver stuff to me, so I first thought it's someone with a nice sense of humour.

"When I looked at it closely it had a frank on it and it had been sent in the post.

"The information on the other side was an issue somebody wanted me to follow up, so I'm glad I got it so I can help that person out."

Historical figures on stamps

• Shakespeare was the very first "commoner" to feature on a stamp, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his birth in 1964.

• He was closely followed by Winston Churchill the year after.

• A set of stamps featuring Sir Paul McCartney was released last month. He is one of only three individual music artists to be featured in a dedicated stamp issue.

• David Bowie was honoured in 2017 and Sir Elton John stamps were issued in 2019.

• Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, was featured on a millennium stamp collection from the Royal Mail in 1999.

• A keen stamp collector, he was honoured for his contribution to the Live Aid charity concert in 1985.

• The millennium collection also featured Charlie Chaplin, football hero Bobby Moore and a Dalek.

• The top three animals to feature on postage stamps are birds, dogs and horses.

Source: BBC News