"1506" wrote

One can equally argue the morality of the
1948 acquisition of the big Four. Having nobly served the UK through
the ravages of WWII, they were relieved of their assets. Justice
would have been better served had they been given grants in order to
repair their battered networks. That done, negotiations could have
ensued with regard to what un-remunerative services should be return
with taxpayer support.

It was a matter of politics, not morality. You will have noticed that the
British electorate in 1945 chose a Labour Government which had a programme
of extensive nationalisation (just as, from 1979 to 1992 they chose
Conservative Governments with a programme of privatisation).

Peter