Chuka Umunna MP Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, responding to Vince Cable’s comments on the Royal Mail privatisation, said:

“Today a cross-party committee has delivered a damning verdict on the government’s Royal Mail fire sale.

“If George Osborne thinks his Government’s botched Royal Mail fire sale has been a ‘success’, it is frightening to imagine what his idea of failure would have looked like. Vince Cable has responded to the report by talking down the Royal Mail and the achievements of its management and employees in recent years. This is irresponsible and outrageous behaviour from a government which has already been discredited in its handling of the Royal Mail fire sale.

“Instead of trying to hide behind their advisers and civil servants and talking down the Royal Mail, ministers should be giving a full and frank apology to taxpayers for short-changing them to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds while the City investors prioritised by the Government have been laughing all the way to the bank.”