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MPs were taken aback by the former chairman of the Post Office’s assertion that Nick Read, the current CEO of the organisation, is the subject of an investigation.
During a hearing to debate compensation payments to sub-postmasters at the centre of the Horizon scandal, Henry Staunton levied the accusation.
The creator of the ITV drama, Alan Bates, advised members of parliament that the government should “get on with paying people.”
For comment, the Post Office has been contacted.
Several crucial figures were being questioned by members of parliament regarding the rate of financial redress for thousands of sub-postmasters.
Witnesses had informed the members of parliament earlier in the day that an internal inquiry was being conducted into Mr. Staunton regarding his purported conduct during his tenure as chairman of the organisation.
Nevertheless, Mr. Staunton asserted that an inquiry was in fact underway concerning Mr. Read.
In addition, he asserted that an 80-page document, one page of which he presented to members of parliament with numerous lines redacted, stated that Mr. Read intended to resign from the Post Office due to discontentment with his salary.
Investigation and Compensation Controversy
Mr. Read was also the subject of an investigation, according to the Department of Business and Trade, which stated that it “has not seen the eighty-page report that Henry Staunton referenced and therefore cannot attest to its contents.”
Additionally, Downing Street has affirmed its confidence in the Post Office director, with the deputy spokesperson for the prime minister stating, “We maintain a close working relationship with him.”
At this juncture, it is critical that all parties maintain their concentration on securing remuneration and equity for the postmasters.
Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted approximately 700 sub-postmasters for larceny and false accounting, which occurred because the Horizon IT system, which was developed by Fujitsu, created the appearance of insufficient funds at branch accounts.
It precipitated the most pervasive miscarriage of justice in the annals of British legal history, according to some accounts.
Thousands more contributed their own funds to the Post Office stores in an effort to compensate for Horizon-induced discrepancies.
Sub-postmasters have filed a claim with the government for compensation; however, according to Mr. Bates, the government, which owns the Post Office, has not established a systematic approach to disbursing funds to claimants.
“It is extremely disappointing,” he declared. As you are well aware, this has been ongoing for years, and I do not foresee it coming to an end.
Mr. Staunton, who was removed as chairman of The Post Office in January, stated that the compensation process had decelerated until the January airing of the Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office drama, which reignited interest in the protracted controversy.
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An ongoing dispute between Mr. Staunton and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has the potential to divert attention away from the sluggish payment of compensation to postmasters.
Mr. Staunton stated in an interview over a week ago that a senior civil servant instructed him to reduce the expenditure on compensation in January of last year.
Ms. Badenoch refuted the allegations, stating that they were “wholly untrue.” She added that Mr. Staunton had been fired in response to “extremely serious allegations regarding his conduct while chair of the Post Office.” Furthermore, apprehensions were expressed regarding the senior independent director appointment procedure at the Post Office, which entails the director challenging the chair on any given matter.
Allegations and Resignation Attempts Revealed
Mr. Staunton claimed on Tuesday that he was the target of a “smear campaign” prior to asserting that Mr. Read was the subject of an investigation into allegations made by the former HR director of the Post Office. According to Mr. Staunton, Mr. Read and the senior HR professional “fell out.”
Additionally, the former chairman asserted that Mr. Read made four resignation attempts while Mr. Staunton was at the Post Office, from December 2022 to January 2024.
This was in contrast to remarks made by Mr. Read shortly earlier, when he responded under oath to MPs’ question regarding his attempt to resign from the Post Office: “No. “Why have you inquired?”
Ms. Badenoch made it clear in her 19 February statement to the House of Commons, according to the Department for Business and Trade, that she had lost faith in Mr. Staunton due to his obstruction of an investigation into his conduct and his attempt to circumvent the formal procedure for appointing a new director to the board.
It further stated that the department will withhold further judgement until the investigation into Mr. Read concludes.
“I believe that [Tuesday’s hearing] poses a number of legitimate concerns for Kemi Badenoch, especially considering her characteristically ambivalent denials of [Mr. Staunton’s] initial assertions.
She further stated, “I believe there are unanswered questions regarding the reasons why recollections vary to such an extent.”
