Labour demands urgent inquiry into Royal Mail | Business

A senior Labour politician has demanded a government inquiry into the “alarming” situation at Royal Mail, and questioned the management of the company.

Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business and industrial strategy minister, has written to Grant Shapps, minister for business, energy and industrial strategy, expressing his “extreme concerns” over the conduct of Royal Mail management.

In the letter, Reynolds argues that the country deserves an explanation as to why Royal Mail management defied “difficult” post-pandemic financial forecasts to give more than £400 million to shareholders, as well as ending the subsidising of Universal Service Obligation services, which is common in most European postal services.

Reynolds added that “it is unclear why a business that was thriving a matter of months ago is now threatening to