Tag: UK

Last ditch efforts will be made today to prevent the dispute between Royal Mail and the postal regulator over letter prices from being referred to the Competition Commission for a six-month inquiry. Adam Crozier, the Royal Mail’s new chief executive, is to meet the full board of commissioners at Postcomm in a final attempt to reach agreement on the proposed 1p increase in first and second class postage prices. Royal Mail has until midnight tomorrow to decide whether to accept Postcomm’s three-year price curbs or appeal to the Competition Commission.

Graham Corbett, the postal regulator criticised for bringing Royal Mail to the brink of bankruptcy, will not have his contract renewed by the government.

The decision, expected to be confirmed in a House of Commons statement today, is widely viewed in the industry as a sign that ministers wish to see a new era of lighter-touch regulation. However, Mr Corbett, 68, insists he intended to stand down at the end of his three-year term as chairman of the Postal Services Commission.

Postal regulator Graham Corbett is to be ousted by the government in a clear victory for Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton who has been at war with him over stamp price increases and competition. Announcement of the decision by trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt could be made as early as tomorrow triggering an immediate rush to find a successor. Ms Hewitt will argue that Mr Corbett has successfully completed the start-up phase of regulation in his contractual three year deal but that it is now time to find someone else to develop regulation to a new level.