More ministerial aides join revolt at Royal Mail sell-off

THREE more ministerial aides have joined the revolt over the Royal Mail sell-off, the Standard reveals today.

The rebellion has also spread to the Cabinet with Gordon Brown said to have been forced to step in to stop the part-privatisation moves being delayed.

At Westminster, there were reports of tension between the Prime Minister and Chief Whip Nick Brown over the policy, which has split the Labour Party with more than 150 backbenchers opposing it.

Mr Brown has so far not been seen to take any action against rebel Labour MPs, including members of the Government, and union sources say he has signalled that he himself harbours concerns over the sell-off of a 30 per cent stake of the Royal Mail, possibly to a foreign company.

Today it emerged that Ealing North MP Stephen Pound, parliamentary private secretary to Treasury minister Stephen Timms, Dave Anderson, PPS to Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell, and Sharon Hodgson, PPS to public health minister Dawn Primarolo, have signed a Commons motion opposing the privatisation.

Evening Standard revealed yesterday that two other ministerial aides, David Hamilton and Stephen Hesford, were backing the Commons campaign.

The Prime Minister is understood to have intervened yesterday to ensure that the Bill for the part-privatisation of the postal service is published tomorrow

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's department failed to win backing from other ministers on the legislation co-ordination committee to push ahead with the contentious policy.

Several Cabinet ministers refused to back Lord Mandelson's attempts to introduce the Royal Mail legislation. The Business Secretary had to rely on Downing Street to override the objections of other Cabinet ministers to stop his plan being delayed.

The peer has told how he is concerned about the "political pain" that the proposals are causing in Labour ranks.

However, he says he will not "walk away" from the reforms, insisting they are needed for the Royal Mail which he says will remain in public ownership.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband was also named as having doubts over the shake-up but his aides insisted he was fully signed up to the Royal Mail policy.

Mandelson v the Chief Whip

AT the height of the foot and mouth crisis in 2001, Nick Brown joked about the slaughter of livestock.

"All cloven-hooved animals have to be slaughtered ... like Peter Mandelson," he guffawed.

The remark was typical of the sour relationship between the men. Now the question being asked is whether their antagonism is affecting the Royal Mail dispute.

Mr Brown, the Chief Whip, has appeared reluctant to go into battle for Lord Mandelson's plans for part-privatisation.

Most unusually, he has allowed five ministerial aides to sign the motion condemning Lord Mandelson's plans, apparently with impunity.