Mandelson to speed Royal Mail sell-off

LORD Mandelson plans to rush through the sell-off of Royal Mail within months in the face of Cabinet opposition, it emerged today.

The taxpayer will also pick up a bill for at least £6billion for postal workers' pensions under the deal. In the document accompanying the Postal Services Bill published today, the Business Secretary said public funds would not be used to bail out the pension scheme if the part-privatisation plan is blocked.

He said today: "All the reform proposals, acted on now, are what is needed if we are to ensure the future of the universal service." Royal Mail's pension scheme has a deficit believed to be between £6billion and £8billion. Ministers are seeking a partner to buy a 30 per cent stake by this summer.

In a bid to defuse an MP revolt at the shake-up, Lord Mandelson unveiled a series of concessions. Royal Mail will remain mainly publicly owned, the universal six-day-a-week postal obligation will be written into law, and Post Office Ltd, which includes the branch network, will be entirely government-owned.