Treasury aides refused to say whether the new Royal Mail offering would be available to the public, or restricted to institutional investors. However, no shares will be reserved for employees - who received 10% last time.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told the BBC that she is optimistic a solution will be found to keep the UK in the European Union and that if EU treaties need changing then she and other leaders will have to consider that.  Mrs Merkel was speaking to the BBC’s Europe Editor Katya Adler in Berlin ahead of the G7 summit in Germany:

She was then asked whether treaties will be changed?  

See more details in earlier entry posted at 13:40

That looks like a pretty dramatic drop in the Royal Mail share price at the time of George Osborne's announcement of the sell-off. But on closer inspection it means the shares are down 2.4% on the day and remain pretty close to their 52-week high - and well above the 330p price at which the shares were originally sold off.

BBC News Channel

John Moylan, BBC industry correspondent, says Royal Mail is already a floated company, so the market has decided what it is worth - so undervaluing won't be an issue this time. 

Another question is what the sale will mean for customers using the service, he adds. It raises the prospect of a takeover at some point, although there appears to be little appetite for that at the moment. 

BBC News Channel

In October 2013, Vince Cable came under a lot of fire amid claims he undervalued Royal Mail during the initial sell off, BBC political correspondent Vicki Young recalls. 

She adds that the government was now hitting the ground running, selling off the remaining share and announcing savings in a number of departments. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is confident that conditions can be created for the UK to stay in the EU. Mrs Merkel was speaking in an exclusive BBC interview with Katya Adler in Berlin:

As you can see from the chart the value of Royal Mail shares were near to their 52 week high this morning. And well above the float price of 330p.

Here's what George Osborne told MPs on the Royal Mail sell-off:

The Daily Politics

Former Scottish Secretary Lord Forysth has told Daily Politics he believes the union is "in grave danger".

He stood by his comments made before the election that the Conservatives played a short-term and dangerous game by building up the SNP as a way of damaging Labour. He said he was advised not to appear on TV to discuss his views on this matter as they were deemed unhelpful.

He told Jo Coburn that "it did indeed work, the Conservatives did get a majority, but the SNP ended up with 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland which was unthinkable and the consequences are now to be dealt with in the long term...  The union is in grave danger and I think Scotland is in danger. The SNP have been elected on a programme which is impossible to deliver."

House of Commons
Parliament

Can One Nation be squared when those at the bottom have to bear £12bn of welfare cuts when those at the top bear no burden at all, asks Ed Miliband.   

He urges the government to match its "rhetoric" on One Nation. 

Ken Clarke, who speaks next, praises Mr Miliband's speech. He says the result wasn't down to the leader of the Labour party - it was down to the message. 

More on George Osborne's announcement that the government is to sell its 30% stake in the Royal Mail. The current market value of the government's remaining share is around £1.5 billion, says the Treasury. The government has appointed Rothschild to advise on the sale.

House of Commons
Parliament

Ed Miliband tells the Commons he has discovered some pluses from losing the election - he gets to spend more time with his sons - one of who has told him "he used to be famous".

On the economy, he says there is growing recognition inequality gaps aren't just bad for the poor, but bad for everybody. 

George Osborne says the government will make a number of savings in departments this year. Here is a list provided by the Treasury:

House of Commons
Parliament

The government will sell its remaining 30% share in Royal Mail.  

We have a structural budget deficit and that is not going to be fixed by economic growth alone, says George Osborne. We have to bring spending down so the country lives within its means, he tells the Commons. He says the government has identified £4.5 billion savings to come this year. 

We have to tackle "endemic weaknesses" in the economy, that no British government has managed to solve in the past, says George Osborne. The Queen's Speech tackles these issues "head on", the chancellor adds. 

Image source, PA

In a reference to the #edstone, George Osborne says Labour has taken the strange approach of erecting a headstone before conducting the post-mortem.