Ken Clarke today gave the clearest indication yet that a Conservative Government would privatise the whole of Royal Mail in a move to tackle Britain's postal services.

In a radio interview this morning, the shadow Business Secretary said that Royal Mail was becoming "a total disaster" and that a Conservative government would privatise the entire group.

He said: "We propose to bring in private capital, assuming it is not in too disastrous a state by next May.”

While a number of Conservative peers queried why Labour plans earlier this year to part-privatise Royal Mail had not gone further, Mr Clarke today made their intention explicit.

The Tory frontbencher's comments came as 42,000 postal workers from Royal Mail walked out this morning, starting a 48-hour nationwide strike which will disrupt services for days.

Picket lines built up outside mail centres around the country as sorting staff and drivers began a 24-hour stoppage. Delivery and collection staff are to hold a one-day strike tomorrow.

Business leaders have dismissed the strike plans as suicidal and mail-order and retail companies have been lining up alternative contracts to handle the seasonal flood of online orders. Royal Mail managers are recruiting 30,000 temporary workers to help to keep the mail moving.

As the strike took hold, union leaders stepped up their attack on Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, over his role in the dispute. Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, dubbed him "the minister without responsibility", while others accused him seeking revenge for the failed part-privatisation of the service.

The attacks also came from within his own party. Colin Burgon, the Labour MP for Elmet, joined the picket line at his local mail sorting centre in Leeds and and said that Lord Mandelson was still smarting over the backbench rebellion which derailed his plans to bring a private sector partner into the Royal Mail.

"It's quite clear that there's been a concerted effort by the management and certain leading figures in the Government, Lord Mandelson for instance, to provoke this action when they should be using their energies to conciliate and get Acas involved, " Mr Burgon told The Times.

"This is Lord Mandelson's revenge for our defeating him a few months ago over his plans to privatise the Royal Mail."

Workers who gathered from before dawn outside the main London sorting centres also took pot-shots at the Business Secretary, accusing him of waging a "vendetta" against union members. Pickets waved banners and flags, with slogans including "Defend Our Postal Services", and "Protect Our Pensions", attracting hoots of support from passing motorists.

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