- Proposed price controls for Royal Mail have been delayed by its regulator amid wrangling over contentious plans to force the state-owned postal operator to implement significant efficiency savings.

Postcomm, which had been due to publish the price controls for 2006-10 this month, rejected suggestions the delay until next week was due to rows with Royal Mail and the government. It said its work had been put back by the amount of material submitted during its consultation on the price control proposals.