Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Banks get a great deal more money than just hundreds of millions of pounds? They don't even provide a service to the public.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

Lets sell it off, then we don't need to invest in the business and perhaps we can import labour at a cheaper rate and sort the letters abroad?. That way the fact that HMG and UK management lack leadership and management skills can be hidden again.

Dave, Chorley,

They have what they have in management & experience drawn from the ranks is always what moves a company forwards.

They have money given them that thay have not used,, this is good management, never is there a better example

Costs are lower now, so the same items can be bought at lower prices

Nicholas Iles, Oswestry, Shropshire, United Kingdom

I can remember Gordon Brown in the nineties announcing one year of many that Royal Mail had made a £400million profit, he then went on to announce the government was taking £375million of that so leaving very little for re-investment in the company. Blame Gordon Brown for the state of Royal Mail.

Stephen, St. Ives, Cornwall

Mandelson is quite right.
The Royal Mail is lagging behind the times, costs a lot of money, never was part of governmental core business, and should be modernized and privatized asap. Selling off parts of it to commercial rivals could be a part of that, as long as service levels are guaranteed.

Golodh, London, UK

Alan Leighton is one of the most accomplished and impressive Leaders in Britain today.

Quite how it is possible for Lord Mandelson to come to what The Times reports as a "damning indictment" of him is, from the outside, most strange. Afterall, Mr Leighton has studied the problem quite closely.

Peter Wear, Farley Green, Surrey, England

To what extent has the privatisation of utilities - with profits and subsidies going overseas - contributed to the current economic collapse in the UK? Is this really the time to be selling off yet more of our infrastructure to a foreign competitor who can be motivated only by profit?

John, Sussex, UK

who is kidding who . Royal mail letters made a profit of £46 million profit for the first 6 mouths of 2008 and look ing to net over £150 million in April 09 for year.Pus the stamps go up by 3 p 10% in April 09, looks like a another bumper year. Why sell to Tnt is it EU thing.

m smith, rugby, england

Here's a thought; as it's the Royal Mail, how about them going back to doing what they're supposed to, sacking the "experts" attempting (and failing) to "modernise" the service, and get the people who really know how to run it into positions where they can do it? For crying out loud!

John, Hastings,

Leighton and crozier thought the end game would be a full privitisation which was going to make them even more money i feel sorry for them as they fudged the big questions for years.

iancampbel, Glasgow, uk

Royal Mail since the 70s has failed to modernise due to poor management drawn from the ranks and lacking proper training or wider experience of the working world. Its all unskilled or semi skilled work, but the managers are as unskilled as the workers.

Gareth, York, UK