Scotland’s best known entrepreneurs have voiced their concerns businesses could be adversely affected if Royal Mail goes ahead with scrapping postal deliveries on Saturdays, despite UK Government assurances it would not support such a move.

The company has said it would like deliveries from Monday to Friday only, however a spokesperson for Downing Street said the Government “would not countenance” this, as regulator Ofcom looks into the future of the service.

Speaking on the Go Radio Business Show, Lord Willie Haughey said: “I see Royal Mail are talking about dropping their letter deliveries, maybe from six days down to five, and even potentially going as low as three. 

“Given that parcels could also be affected, should businesses be concerned about this? Is post going the way of the dodo these days for businesses?”

Sir Tom Hunter responded: “Here’s another business that’s experiencing change and those managing this development, the leadership, really should understand the change that needs to come in.

“I don’t know the answer but they’re losing a great deal of money. So either the customer pays, if they want a Saturday delivery, or that business has to rationalise.”

Lord Haughey voiced his hope “if they’ve hundreds of millions in savings they give it all to the sub-postmasters where they made their lives a misery”. 

Sir Tom agreed, adding: “More legislation is going to go through Westminster and I was actually heartened by our own First Minister Humza Yousaf saying, if he could, he would just follow Westminster, if this meant helping those affected by the scandal more quickly.

“That was the first time I’ve actually heard the First Minister in Scotland say he would follow Westminster but good on him for it. Now, whether he does it, we’ll judge him by that . . . but I thought that was refreshing.”