An MP says the Royal Mail wasted money by sending him a mauve carnation through the post in a specially designed blue box.

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, has condemned the promotion and says the under-fire post service should concentrate on cutting its losses of £1.1 million a day and delivering mail on time.

The smart blue box and flower, which the MP estimates to be worth between £3 and £4, arrived unsolicited at his office.

The message on the front read: "This is just one of over 80 million deliveries we will make today."

However, the promotion did not impress Mr Baker, who had already been contacted by a businessman in Lewes who had also received a flower out of the blue and thought it was a complete waste of money.

The flower, addressed to: The Office Manager, Lewes Liberal Democrats, was one of 200,000 sent out to specially targeted addresses across Britain.

Mr Baker said: "At a time when the Royal Mail is deep in the red and losing millions and people are complaining about its service, I find it amazing the company is wasting money on a promotion such as this.

"It must be creating more work for hard pressed sorters and delivery teams in the run up to their busiest time of the year. No wonder the Royal Mail is in danger of turning from a milch cow into a walking disaster."

A spokesman for The Royal Mail said: "We are sorry Mr Baker thinks this a waste of money.

"We need to market our services as we are facing competition like never before. We are in fierce competition with companies that make special deliveries and the flower was a good demonstration of the kind of item we can deliver quickly and efficiently.

"The promotion has been carefully costed and we expect it to be reciprocated in increased revenue which will enable us to reduce our losses. There is evidence this is already happening. We hope Mr Baker liked the flower."

The Royal Mail refused to reveal the total cost of the campaign on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.