We MUST stop the Royal Mail scam: Six reasons why Labor selling our crown jewels to a Russian-linked Czech is bad for investors, bad for consumers and bad for Britain: ALEX BRUMMER

The post, in all its heavenly shorts, is much loved in a small Hertfordshire village, where every Christmas resident gets together to buy himself a £500 gift bag and champagne and the chocolate.

In this season of celebration, love or hate, Royal Mail is a permanent feature of our lives.

Whether queuing for an hour and a half to drop off a gift for a loved one at Down Under or shelling out a whopping £13.20 for a book of eight first class stamps, most have a connection. of buildings to the Royal Mail. .

There’s nothing better than receiving a handwritten (albeit delayed!) card in a time when e-thanks end up in the inbox with scams, spam and other junk. required.

The Royal Mail’s bright red post boxes with the king’s crest, a queen on the King’s head – even the great inconvenience of going to the office down to the ankles to collect the parcels it has not been released yet – it’s an unusual British version of the world.

Yet this well-known house, which trades on the London stock market as International Distribution Services (IDS), is still in trouble.

Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire who has joined Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia, is about to take power with a fortune of £3.6 billion. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds gave a thumbs-up to the deal, taking promises about the future of the postal service and the way it operates at face value.

If you think postage is too expensive now at £1.65 for a first class stamp and 85p for a second class one, just wait.

As for delays, Royal Mail was recently fined £10.5million for delivering more than one of the first four letters late. This will also be exacerbated under Czech control as Mr Kretinsky tries to increase his profits and reduce service obligations.

Yet our Labor politicians, the neutrals and the business people have no idea.

Mr Reynolds has described Mr Kretinsky as a ‘proper businessman’. A government investigation, under the provisions of the National Security & Investments Act, failed to rule out the deal.

Here are six good reasons why the Government, the public, the columns and shareholders in the business told Mr Kretinsky to walk:

1. Russian connection

Much of Mr Kretinsky’s wealth has been amassed doing power and pipeline deals with Putin – sanctioned by the West.

He is still embroiled in a long and complicated legal dispute in Russia over the fate of his coal interests.

The 49-year-old has been backed in his career, including ownership of West Ham United FC, by a Slovak investment bank J&T, which is involved in a legal case of alleged corruption in the remote island of Turks and Caicos. .

2. Debt collection

The proposal will be financed by some £3 billion of high-interest loans issued by foreign banks.

This is in addition to the £2 billion of debt already sitting on the balance sheet of Royal Mail owner IDS.

This is a very bad record, by foreign investors, by unscrupulous investors.

The Thames Water crisis, which is currently awaiting recovery, is due to the need to meet interest payments on £16 billion of debt.

The result is less money spent on fixing leaky pipes and more waste flowing into the Thames.

At retailer Asda, heavy takeovers from the group have resulted in a loss of sales, market share and reputation.

3. Security

The origins of the Royal Mail can be traced back 500 years to the ‘safe’ courier service for King Henry VIII.

Centuries later this is how major public services such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, the NHS and other parts of the government have been able to communicate effectively with us over the years. online scams.

It is, of course, central to postal voting, and thus our democratic system. Most households in Britain will be familiar with the brown, window boxes that land on your doorstep.

4. Procedure

Royal Mail is one of the most popular brands in the UK. The pole in its shorts, in any weather, is a guest that we wait patiently especially when it’s Christmas, New Year or birthday.

The Royal Family and cipher, dating back to Queen Victoria, are celebrated on bright red pillar boxes in every town, city and village the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.

The stamps, decorated with the king’s head, are treasured by every schoolboy collector.

The monuments, which honor everyone from Sir Winston Churchill to the Harry Potter legend, feature images of everything Britain is proud of.

The cost of a first class stamp seems to be as high as £1.65. But the service is delivered to the most remote parts of the country (mostly!) on the next day. No other commercial service offers this.

This British heritage may not be the same as Royal Mail becomes another pillar in Mr Kretinsky’s commercial empire that has spread from roots to Eastern Europe. He may also seek to increase his profits by cutting back on services and increasing the cost of capital.

5. Customer

Shareholders, including politicians and other employees who own about 5 percent of the stock, are at risk of change.

A group of investors believe that if the regulator, Ofcom, gives Royal Mail permission to pay more easily for first class deliveries and the same second class service then the Mr Kretinsky’s offer price was 370p per share. there is a price for him.

They also think Royal Mail has been sold for too little.

In that case the board, led by former British Airways chief Keith Williams, would have to withdraw his support or resign rather than allow shareholders to sell short.

6. Sew the city

Advisory firms such as Goldman Sachs, lawyers, banks and consultants are in line to collect £146million in compensation if the Czech deal goes through.

They have no pride in a British heritage band and advised the board that they had no choice – citing their fiduciary duty (an obligation under company law) – but to accept the offer.

It’s not like that. Stock market history suggests that stalwarts such as pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, Miner Anglo-American and others stand firm and resist negative action.

This shows respect for their company’s history and dedication to their work, which is to create value for shareholders rather than sell them.

Too much foreign investment in British companies such as Thames Water, Heathrow and Arm Holdings has been bad for investors, bad for consumers and bad for Britain. There is still time to kill the request for Royal Mail.