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| Mandelson puts forward mail plans | Mandelson puts forward mail plans |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson has introduced the controversial bill which would part-privatise the Royal Mail, a day earlier than expected. | Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson has introduced the controversial bill which would part-privatise the Royal Mail, a day earlier than expected. |
| The plans to sell off 30% of Royal Mail were not debated and were given a First Reading in the House of Lords. | The plans to sell off 30% of Royal Mail were not debated and were given a First Reading in the House of Lords. |
| There were protests against the plans on Tuesday and 130 Labour MPs have signed a motion opposing them. | |
| Labour peer Lord Clarke, a former postman, shouted "shame on you" as Lord Mandelson introduced the bill. | Labour peer Lord Clarke, a former postman, shouted "shame on you" as Lord Mandelson introduced the bill. |
| Details of the bill will not be published until Thursday but the government wants to sell a 30% stake of the Royal Mail, to help fund modernisation but insist overall its ownership will stay in public hands. | |
| Meanwhile the government would take on responsibility for the pension scheme, the deficit of which is believed to be about £8bn, as part of the package. | |
| But many Labour MPs are angry about the plans, arguing the party made a manifesto commitment to keep the Royal Mail in public hands. | |
| The BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, said that by introducing the bill in the House of Lords, the government had given themselves a couple of months to try to win the argument. | |
| Introducing the bill on Wednesday Lord Mandelson told peers the bill would "make provision for the restructuring of the Royal Mail Group and of the Royal Mail pension plan". | |
| But he was heckled by Lord Clarke, who was deputy general secretary of the postal workers' union in the 1980s. | |
| The bill was given its first reading - essentially a formality which allows it to be printed so peers and MPs can see the proposals in detail. It will be debated in full at its second reading - although no date has yet been set for that. | |
| It had been expected that the bill would be introduced on Thursday but the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform denied it had been moved forward and said it was usual procedure for Lord Mandelson to make a statement before peers the day before. | |
| They said nothing had been altered in the timetable for the bill - as it would be published on the Parliamentary website on Thursday. |