Former Labour star Chuka Umunna advises tycoon accused of plot to take over Royal Mail 

Former Labour Party star Chuka Umunna is advising an energy tycoon known as the ‘Czech Sphinx’ who has been accused of plotting to take over the Royal Mail.

The former leadership hopeful, 44, has been hired by investment firm Vesa Equity which is run by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Mr Umunna is working with the company in his role as a managing director and division head at JP Morgan, The Daily Telegraph reported.

It comes weeks after Mr Kretinsky – whose ‘Czech Sphinx’ nickname comes from his inscrutable approach to investing –upped his stake in the Royal Mail’s parent company to 23 per cent. The move prompted speculation he is planning a full-blown takeover of the beleaguered business – which has been crippled by a wave of strikes.

Daniel Kretinsky upped his stake in the Royal Mail’s parent company to 23 per cent. The move prompted speculation he is planning a full-blown takeover of the beleaguered business

The Communication Workers Union boss Dave Ward has accused bosses of holding ‘secret talks’ with Vesa about a sale, which the Royal Mail denied.

Mr Umunna was branded a ‘hypocrite’ for advising Mr Kretinsky after claiming in 2013 that privatising the Royal Mail would ‘destroy the UK’s universal postal service’.

At the time Mr Umunna, then Labour’s business spokesman, said: ‘There’s no way private companies can maintain six-day-a-week deliveries to every single address in the UK. Maintaining the Royal Mail in public ownership gives the taxpayer an ongoing direct interest in universal postal services in this country… and it ensures the taxpayer gets the share in the upside of modernisation and the increased profits which Royal Mail delivers.’

Conservative MP Lee Anderson said: ‘This latest bout of hypocrisy once again exposes the contempt these so-called Socialists have for the Great British public. They say one thing but do another.’

Mr Umunna was a long-serving Labour frontbencher but a series of defections saw him end up as a Liberal Democrat and lose his seat in 2019. He took the lucrative JP Morgan job overseeing the bank’s environmental, social and governance services in Europe, last year.

Mr Kretinsky faced an investigation under the National Security and Investment Act after moving to increase his stake in the Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services, above 25 per cent. But last month he was given the go-ahead to snap up more of the business, and even launch a takeover of the ailing company.

The beleaguered Royal Mail is locked in a bitter dispute with unions and losing £1million a day.

Mr Kretinsky’s expanded stake – worth around £469million – tightens his grip on the company as its largest shareholder. The 47-year-old is estimated to have a net worth of around £4.3billion.

a.mitchell@dailymail.co.uk