British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks to members of the House of Commons. (File photo)
British Prime Minister David Cameron has come under pressure over the sell-off of Royal Mail, with critics accusing him of selling the firm's stakes at a knockdown price.
On Wednesday, Cameron was questioned in the House of Commons over the handling of the sale of a 60-percent stake of the mail operator.
Ed Miliband, the opposition Labour party leader, criticized Cameron of selling the shares at an undervalued price.
On Wednesday, Cameron was questioned in the House of Commons over the handling of the sale of a 60-percent stake of the mail operator.
Ed Miliband, the opposition Labour party leader, criticized Cameron of selling the shares at an undervalued price.
"He sold at 330 pence and this morning the price was 563 pence. It is basic maths," said Miliband, labeling Cameron the "Dunce of Downing Street."
According to the Labour leader, the undervaluation of the 500-year-old state postal operator has cost British taxpayers £1.4 billion.
Miliband continued by saying, "A third of the shares were sold to just 16 city investors and there was a gentleman's agreement that those city investors wouldn't sell the shares."
"What happened? Within weeks, half of those shares had been sold and they had made a killing worth hundreds of millions of pounds. In other words 'mates rates' for his (Cameron) friends in the City,” said Miliband.
Cameron responded by dismissing Miliband’s accusations with false claims that the Labour party had called for privatization of the mail operator.
This comes as Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO) released a report on April 1, criticizing the sale. The NAO said the government pressed ahead with plans to privatize Royal Mail at a price of 330 pence a share even though there had been warnings that it was undervalued.
Prior to the sell-off, banks had estimated that the government could receive up to 867 pence per share.
CAH/AB
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