Downing Street's relationship with Labour backbenchers became further strained yesterday as anger mounted over job losses at Consignia and a taxpayers' bail out of Railtrack shareholders.

Both embattled transport secretary Stephen Byers and trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt received an icy reception from MPs on the government benches when they made statements to the Commons.

As both cabinet ministers faced jeers from rowdy opposition benches Labour support was generally conspicuous by its absence

Axing 15,000 jobs at the Post Office, which is also consigning the "Consignia" name to the dustbin, will be the first stage of change in the industry and an extra £400 million of government cash will also be needed. Consignia has asked for £244 million, the government's dividend for two years to be returned, and has already been allowed to forego handing over £64 million to the public purse.

It has also emerged that the favoured not-for-profit option for rail, Network Rail, will require government liability for up to £9 billion if the company limited by guarantee fails. And Byers was accused of a "180 degree turnaround" for making a £300 million decision to compensate Railtrack shareholders.

Hewitt's despatch box performance was the cause of Tory and sketch writer hilarity when the trade and industry secretary mistakenly located Harrogate, the scene of a weekend Conservative conference, by the sea - a 100 mile miss. It is no wonder, muses the Times' Ben Macintyre, that one million items of mail are lost every week when the cabinet minister responsible for postal service shows such a grasp of geography.