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Royal Mail

I recognise that my right hon. Friend has made this statement, but I am not convinced by Hooper's recommendations. New technologies may have reduced letters by 5 million over two years, but the number of packages and parcels have substantially increased. Therefore, we ought to be getting into that business. Let me explain where we are really missing the point, however. It is not about selling off the silverware and looking for partners. We must charge private companies sufficiently high sums to ensure that Royal Mail makes a profit and is not subsidised by the taxpayer, because bulk mail is having a free ride at the expense of taxpayers. If we put that right, Royal Mail will begin to make a profit. Let us do it that way, not the privatisation way.