The chief executive of TalkTalk has accused BT’s management of trying to bully the new government after her rival threatened to pull the plug on an upgrade to the country’s broadband network if it is broken up.
TalkTalk is one of several companies that has called for BT’s consumer division to be split from its Openreach business, which owns and operates the national network, to improve competition.
Ofcom initiated a wide-ranging review of the sector this year, and Gavin Patterson, the chief executive of BT, warned on the day of the election that any move by regulators to split Openreach from its parent could hit planned investment in upgrading the nation to ultra-fast broadband.
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, the chief executive of TalkTalk and a