A MOBILE phone operator says it has fulfilled a pledge to return services to the UK – creating North-East jobs in the process.

EE, which has call centres in Darlington and North Tyneside, says all customer calls are now dealt with in the UK and Ireland.

Bosses added the move has created more than 1,000 roles across the country, with workers answering queries on EE’s pay monthly, pay as you go, broadband and TV divisions.

The confirmation comes after an announcement last summer wherein EE revealed it was taking on 130 staff at its Darlington offices and a further 130 in Tyneside.

EE is Darlington’s largest private employer with about 1,500 posts and a spokeswoman told The Northern Echo the base would remain pivotal to operations.

She said: “Our Darlington and North Tyneside contact centres continue to deliver outstanding service to our customers.

“We’re pleased to have grown our staff numbers to over 3,200 in total across both sites.”

Marc Allera, EE chief executive, said the changes would allow it to deal with customer demands easier.

He added: “Customer service is a top priority for us and 2016 was a landmark year in the service we provided.

“We’ve delivered on the pledge we made last April to answer all customer service calls in the UK and Ireland, and are making strong progress towards our commitment to expand our superfast 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass by 2020.

“We’re passionate about making our service the best in the industry.”

EE previously said it would spend millions on new offices in Darlington to help secure jobs.

The business was also the subject of a £12.5bn takeover by BT last year, which made the latter one of the top ten largest companies in the region, with an 8,800-strong workforce, extended scope to offer fixed-lines phones, mobiles and TV, and access to EE’s 4G network, which provides instant internet access.

The deal was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority.

At the time, inquiry chairman, John Wotton, said there was no evidence the tie-up would damage the market.

He added: “As BT is a smaller operator in mobile, it is unlikely the merger will have an effect on competition.”