Amid mounting fears over what the proposed takeover by a Czech billionaire will mean, the Business Secretary held crunch talks with the 508-year-old postal service.
Sources in Daniel Kretinsky's sphere yesterday spoke of a reluctance to expand his English empire by purchasing one of the Premier League 's most iconic clubs.
Czech billionaire Daniel Krestinsky, 48, who is set to become Royal Mail's new owner, lives in one of Britain's most expensive homes, which was once put on the market for an eye-watering £100 million.
Hosts Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce discussed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 'semi-royal' tour of Nigeria last weekend on the latest episode of the Mail's YouTube show.
Daniel Kretinsky's bid for the service would just be another finger in a series of British pies for the business mogul - with stakes aplenty in West Ham and supermarket Sainsbury's.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: But selling a business which has been a cornerstone of our society for centuries into billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is hardly in the country's best interests
ALEX BRUMMER: The very notion that this organisation, with a heritage dating back to 1516, might be sold off to a shadowy Czech billionaire may once have seemed ludicrous.
RUTH SUNDERLAND: Kretinsky is one of the new breed of capitalists who cashed in following the fall of the Soviet Union. His net worth is estimated by US magazine Forbes at £7.3 billion.
In a move that sent shockwaves through the City and Westminster, the board of its parent company backed a £3.5billion takeover offer from a billionaire dubbed the 'Czech Sphinx'.
ROYAL MAIL is ready to accept a sweetened £3.5billion takeover bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky — after he pledged to protect workers and pensions.
ROYAL MAIL is ready to accept a sweetened £3.5billion takeover bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky — after he pledged to protect workers and pensions.