Department of Business criticised for using taxpayers' cash to fund advertising campaign for Royal Mail privatisation
The Department of Business has confirmed taxpayers’ money has been used for an advertising campaign encouraging the public to buy shares in Royal Mail following the government’s privatisation plans.
Privatisation: Engine Group will create an advertising campaign
Engine Group has been appointed to create the advertising campaign and the Department of Business has refused to reveal how much is being spent on it. Co-founder of Engine, Julian Hough, said the agency was “delighted” to have won the contract for the “highly prestigious piece of business”.
Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, was quoted in the Mirror as saying: “The government is splashing taxpayers’ money on a deeply unpopular privatisation programme.
“More than two-thirds of the public are against privatisation – a clear majority in any system.”
A YouGov poll revealed last month that just a fifth of the public supported the government’s privatisation of Royal Mail, with 67 per cent in opposition.