Regulator finally cuts Royal Mail some slack on its service obligations. But what if it had done so sooner?

• Royal Mail should cut second-class delivery days, says regulator Ofcom

What if Ofcom had cut Royal Mail some slack half a decade ago? What if the universal service obligation (USO), the requirement on the postal operator to deliver nationwide six days a week at a uniform price, had been tweaked before letter volumes fully fell off the cliff?

Would Royal Mail’s finances have been in better shape? Would Daniel Křetínský, AKA the Czech Sphinx, not have had an opening to make his £3.6bn takeover bid while the share price was on the floor? Or, if he had pounced, would the board of the International Distribution Services(IDS), the parent, have put up a stiffer fight?