HOSPITAL bosses are investigating a claim that a political campaign leaflet was sent out through the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust’s postal system.

A resident in Farnworth, who asked not to be named, claimed to have received an election leaflet from Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi, pictured, in a marked envelope from the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The envelope, which was dated June 1 and bore the trust’s franking mark, is said to have contained a leaflet promoting the Bolton South East candidate’s record on defending the NHS.

Both the trust and Ms Qureshi’s office have denied any knowledge of how the letter was sent.

Heather Edwards, head of communications at the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We can state absolutely that we do not permit any political party to use our postal system.

“The franking system we have is intended only for Trust mail. We are looking into how this incident regarding campaign material came about, but it may prove difficult to find out.”

A spokesman for Yasmin Qureshi’s office said that advice was being sought from the Electoral Commission.

They added: “We have absolutely no idea who has sent this. It has not been sent from our office or with the authority of anyone in our office. We do not have access to any of the hospital’s postal system and are working with the hospital to investigate this.”