Vince Cable has confirmed in a statement to MPs the intention to float an initial majority stake in Royal Mail, with the rest following dependant on the market conditions.

Members of the Communication Workers Union protested upon an open-top bus through City to oppose the sell-off, despite the prospect of a windfall worth more than £2,000 each for the 150,000-strong workforce, through news that staff would hold 10 percent of the business following the new proposal.

Mr Cable told the Commons: "These shares will be free to eligible employees, recognising that many of them would otherwise find them unaffordable."

Cable added that the flotation expected to value the business at £3bn, would start over the next year and the shares would be listed on the London Stock Exchange and be available to the general public as well as institutional investors.