Royal Mail stepped up defence in the battle against the Czech Sphinx

Parent company International Distributions Services begged Ofcom to 'accelerate' review that would let it slash services and save cash. Royal Mail steps up defence in bid battle with 'Czech Sphinx' Parent company has begged ofcom to speed up review to save cash and slash services.

Hunt said there were 'lessons' to be learned from the tangled mess at Thames Water. Hunt: 'Lessons' should be learned about foreign takeover of Royal Mail. 'Czech Sphinx' plots fresh swoop to take over the mail service from London. Hunt said: 'There are lessons' to learn from the mess of Thames Water at the moment.

Daniel Kretinsky, who co-owns West Ham United and has a stake in Sainsbury's, has already seen an opening bid worth £3.2bn rejected. The Czech Sphinx has already bid for Royal Mail worth £4.2billion rejected.

Royal Mail's letters crisis left it vulnerable to the Czech sphinx. Billionaire bids to buy remaining IDS shares as postal service racks up heavy losses. Royal Mail’s letters crisis led it to the brink of collapse. The postal service has been hit by a series of scandals including the collapse of its finances.