Leaked letter sparks postal service fears

Published on Wednesday 22 September 2010 18:06

A ROW has broken out over the future of the Royal Mail after a leaked letter from Business Secretary Vince Cable suggested that remote parts of the UK could lose their universal service guarantee in a privatisation.

The letter from Mr Cable to Tory Chancellor George Osborne said his department might build in flexibility into the Royal Mail Bill to scale back a six-day service to five.

Some have read this to mean the end of Saturday post in parts of the Highland and Islands.

The leak has proven to be embarrassing for Lib Dem Scottish leader Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, after he announced in his conference speech that he had received a "copper bottom" pledge that the universal service would survive. The SNP's Royal Mail spokesman in Westminster, Mike Weir said: "Vince Cable's letter lays bare the utter duplicity of the Lib Dems over postal services.

"Just days after Tavish Scott claimed he had received a copper bottomed guarantee that there would be no change we find out from the small print that the bill will include provisions to change it."

However, yesterday the Lib Dems hit back by asking how the universal guarantee could be maintained in an independent Scotland. They also asked how an independent Scotland could pay for the 1 billion which is the country's share of the black hole in the Royal Mail's pension fund.

Lib Dem finance spokesman in Holyrood Jeremy Purvis said: "The SNP attack is full of errors and is hypocritical.

@Under the SNP's plans for independence, they cannot guarantee that the Royal Mail will serve Scotland."