Royal Mail bosses threaten to declare insolvency as pay talks near collapse

Royal Mail is on course to make operating losses of £350m-£400m this year, its parent company has said. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

Long-running talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union are on the brink of collapse, with the company’s board thought to have threatened to put the loss-making postal service – the regulated UK entity that delivers to every address in the country – into a form of administration if a deal cannot be agreed.

A politically explosive move to declare the postal service insolvent is regarded by Royal Mail’s board as a last resort but has been raised with the union already.