Consignia chief becomes less plural

Allan Leighton, the non-executive chairman of Consignia, the former Post Office, yesterday began dropping some of his other duties in preparation for a more hands-on role at the beleaguered state-run operation.

ScottishPower said Mr Leighton had quit as a non-executive director there and, according to industry sources, he is also close to dropping some other directorships.

There is growing speculation that John Roberts, Consignia's chief executive, may be ousted, taking the blame for an expected annual loss of £1.0bn to £1.2bn to be unveiled by the group today.

The company is slashing costs in an effort to return to profitability as it faces the liberalisation of its markets next year. Plans to open the UK's postal industry to full competition were put back by a year two weeks ago to allow the former monopoly more time to prepare for the consequences.

"This (chairmanship) is a big job and he (Leighton) has said publicly he will reduce the directorships he has got," a Consignia spokeswoman said.

Leighton, a former chief executive of Asda supermarket, is chairman of Lastminute.com, the internet booking service, and the housebuilder Wilson Connolly. Other non-executive directorships include a post at Leeds United Plc.

Consignia is also expected to unveil a new name, Royal Mail Plc, and more job cuts in today's results.