Labour calls for two inquiries into sell-off

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Labour calls for two inquiries into sell-off which may have lost taxpayers £750MILLION

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Labour last night called for two inquiries into the Royal Mail sell-off which may have lost taxpayers £750million.

The move comes after frenzied trading of more than 100 million shares pushed the 378-year-old company up from the Government’s valuation of £3.3billion to £4.4billion on Friday.

One investor told the Sunday Mirror: “Everyone knew the sale was woefully undervalued. But the Government could not risk failure.

“So they went ahead and we filled our boots.”

Now Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna has demanded a National Audit Office probe into the sale after it emerged City traders blocked moves to set the launch price higher than £3.30 a share.

And he has also called on the powerful Public Accounts Committee to investigate the flotation.

Embattled Business Secretary Vince Cable denied he was behind a fire sale of a British institution and said the share price would fall back.

But Mr Umunna responded: “The vast majority of shares sold went to large City investors instead of members of the public.

“Taxpayers need to have confidence that this national institution hasn’t been sold off on the cheap to big money investors looking to make a fast buck. So it is crucial that this matter is fully investigated.”

The Government’s sale of up to 60% of the Royal Mail will raise between £1.7billion and £2billion.

But it could have netted an extra £750million if it had sold the company at Friday’s closing share price of £4.55.

Of the 690,000 people who joined the ell-off, many offloaded their allocations of 750 shares instantly to rake in a quick £250.

Meanwhile trouble is looming for the new stock market company as unions continue to oppose the privatisation ahead of an expected announcement on Wednesday of a postal workers’ strike.

[Ahebban]

Bit late in the day to be shouting ''foul''!

Stop playing to the media, get off the fence and commit fully to the re-nationalisation of Royal Mail in your manifesto or shut the f*ck up!

[borders]

how are we opposing Privatisation ?? it happened on Friday , did it not ??

[TrueBlueTerrier]

By trying to get it renationalised I think they mean.

[barbario]

And if these two inquires find that the public were indeed "rip off" big time,what happens next .? ....Nothing ,i suppose.

[britwrit]

Before the sale, it was claimed that Royal Mail was being sold back to the very taxpayers who owned it in the first place.

Well, it turns out that WASN'T TRUE AT ALL! (Or at least only a little bit.) The City got most of it.

I expect apologies will be forthcoming.

[hans solo]

f**k labour

[Shambles]

As tax payers, can we start legal proceedings for theft?