Britain's newly-elected government on Thursday announced plans to sell off its remaining stake in the Royal Mail postal service as part of efforts to cut state debt by £4.5 billion ($6.9 billion, 6.1 billion euros).

A month after Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives won a general election, the Treasury "announced £4.5 billion of new measures which will bring down public debt this year, including a major boost to the Exchequer from completing the privatisation of the Royal Mail".