Royal Mail slump ‘vindicates’ £3.3bn sale price, says Vince Cable 

The crisis at Royal Mail ‘justifies’ the government’s decision to sell it for £3.3bn, said former company secretary Sir Vince Cable.

The Liberal Democrat politician faced a barrage of criticism for cheaply selling Royal Mail when it was privatized in 2013 at 330p a share.

But with shares now at 225p, and the company facing annual losses of nearly £650m, Cable defended the move.

He said the decision to sell shares at 330p was “justified a long time ago” and said: “The government has made a deal as best it can.”

Dating back to 1516, Royal Mail was privatized in 2013 when Cable was business secretary under Tory Prime Minister David Cameron.

The pricing of the shares was subject to strong criticism.

They reached 590p in 2014 and peaked above 600p in 2018. Among those outraged by the price was former Labor MP Chuka Umunna, then shadow affairs secretary, who said it was being sold ‘cheap’.

But Cable, 79, said his assessment of Royal Mail’s value was correct.

Umunna, who became infamous for switching sides before losing his seat in 2019, is now a banker for JP Morgan, advising billionaire investor Daniel Kretinsky – nicknamed the Czech Sphinx – who owns a 23 per cent stake in Royal Mail possess.

With Royal Mail in crisis, speculation is mounting that Kretinsky is plotting a takeover.