Telia, the Swedish telecoms operator looking to merge with Finnish rival Sonera, could fall foul of another political wrangle after Finland's government accused it of breaking the merger agreement.

Finnish communications minister Kimmo Sasi said the election of Anders Igel, chief executive of Telia, to the board of directors broke the agreement that executives would not sit on the board. He said the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications had written to the Swedish Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications about the issue.