We MUST stop the Royal Mail heist: The six reasons Labour selling off our crown jewels to a Russian-connected Czech is bad for investors, bad for customers and bad for Britain: ALEX BRUMMER
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The postie, in his all-weather shorts, is so much loved in one small Hertfordshire village, that each Christmas residents club together to buy him a £500 gift voucher plus champagne and chocolates. At this festive season, love it or hate it, the Royal Mail is an enduring feature of our lives.
![[Royal Mail is one of the most recognisable brands in the UK]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/16/93200125-14198315-Royal_Mail_is_one_of_the_most_recognisable_brands_in_the_UK-a-47_1734368063670.jpg)
Whether one is queuing for an hour and a half to post a gift to a loved-one Down Under or forking out a whopping £13.20 for a book of eight bar-coded first-class stamps, most households have a relationship with the Royal Mail. There is nothing nicer than receiving a hand-written card (even if it is delayed!) in an age when e-greetings pile into the inbox alongside scams, junk and other unwanted communications.
Daniel Kretinsky has had historic entanglements with Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia. The Royal Mail's bright red pillar boxes with the crest of the monarch, stamps with the King's head – even the unfailing nuisance of having to visit often down-in-heel sorting office to collect undelivered parcels – are all an unchanging aspect of British life.
Yet this oh so familiar institution, which trades on the London stock market as International Distribution Services (IDS), is facing an existential crisis. Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire who's had historic entanglements with Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia, is close to taking control with a £3.6billion takeover bid. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has given a thumbs up to a deal, naively taking guarantees made as to the future of the postal service and the way it is run at face value.
