Royal Mail's sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has been cleared by the Government, paving the way for the more than 500-year-old postal service to pass into foreign ownership for the first time.Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed the Government had secured a raft of legally binding commitments with Mr Kretinsky's EP Group over the postal service, including protecting the one-price-goes-anywhere delivery commitment and a pledge to keep Royal Mail headquartered in the UK.Mr Kre

Royal Mail's sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has been cleared by the Government, paving the way for the more than 500-year-old postal service to pass into foreign ownership for the first time.Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed the Government had secured a raft of legally binding commitments with Mr Kretinsky's EP Group over the postal service, including protecting the one-price-goes-anywhere delivery commitment and a pledge to keep Royal Mail headquartered in the UK.Mr Kretinsky and International Distribution Services agreed to a deal worth £3.6 billion - or £5.3 billion including debt - in May but had been waiting for approval from the Government, which must sanction the takeover given the national importance of Royal Mail and the postal service in the UK.