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Gordon Brown was handed notice he faces a serious revolt over plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail today with the resignation of a ministerial aide.

Jim McGovern resigned from his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Pat McFadden, the minister who announced the plans to the Commons yesterday.

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The Dundee West MP said: “I believe a PPS has to be fully supportive of proposals of the department which they serve. In this case, I do not support what looks to me like partial privatisation of the Royal Mail.

“In his statement Pat McFadden said he welcomed an expression of interest from the Dutch postal company TNT.

“For me, it simply beggars belief that we would employ the services of a company from abroad to tell the Royal Mail in this country where they are going wrong.”

Mr McFadden was given a hostile reception by Labour MPs when he announced the outcome of a review by Richard Hooper which recommended an injection of private capital.

A significant rebellion appeared likely after no Labour backbencher spoke up in favour of the plans. Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, is understood to have sought to calm Labour anger in a series of private meetings last night.

The resignation of Mr McGovern suggests that he has failed to head off a revolt.

Labour made a manifesto commitment to keep the Royal Mail in public ownership, but a plunging volume of post plus a rocketing pension deficit have forced ministers to come close to breaking that pledge.

Mr McGovern, 52, is a former glazier and official of the GMB union.

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