The Royal Mail sell-off is a scandal

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is set to buy Royal Mail for 3.6 billion .

He already owns a 27 per cent share of West Ham United and a 10 per cent stake in Sainsbury ’s.

The idea behind the sale is that the state will be rid of a loss-making concern and the private sector will have the chance to turn it around.

But there is more at issue here than efficiency, and it is unlikely to be commercially viable.

It is hard to see how even Kretinsky , with his record of success, can make his new venture viable without eventual changes.

There is already talk of guarantees for second -class deliveries being slackened.

The Post Office is going through its own agonies, as the scale of the Horizon computer scandal continues to unfold, with the eventual costs surely outweighing any benefits of restructuring.