Ex-Post Office boss claims he was informed to stall on compensation till election

The ousted former chair of the Post Office has claimed a senior civil servant informed him to stall on giving compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal till after the election.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch final month eliminated Henry Staunton from the position he had held since December 2022.

The Horizon IT system ruined the lives of tons of of Post Office staff when it mistakenly made it appear like cash was lacking from their branches. Postmasters have been wrongly blamed for the shortfalls and made to cowl the losses, with greater than 900 convicted together with some who have been put in jail.

So far round £160million has been paid in compensation to 2,700 folks by way of three completely different schemes, which works out at a mean of £59,000 per claimant. Victims have complained about delays and warned that the system is just too bureaucratic.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Staunton stated he believed the Government ought to supply wronged sub-postmasters £1million every. “The public believes this is terrible – and frankly, if we paid more than we might do in a hard-bitten law case, I don’t think the public would mind one jot,” he stated.

Mr Staunton described the three compensation schemes as “terribly bureaucratic”, “terribly pedantic”, “terribly unhelpful” and “terribly unsympathetic”. “I thought, we haven’t got this right, we’re trying to make it difficult [to claim compensation],” he added.

The former WHSmith government instructed officers in Whitehall had inspired him to carry again compensation. “Early on, I was told by a fairly senior person to stall on spending on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon, and to limp, in quotation marks – I did a file note on it – limp into the election,” he stated.

“It was not an anti-postmaster thing, it was just straight financials. I didn’t ask, because I said, ‘I’m having no part of it – I’m not here to limp into the election, it’s not the right thing to do by postmasters.’ The word ‘limp’ gives you a snapshot of where they were.”

Former sub-postmaster Michael Rudkin, who was one of many victims of the scandal, stated: “Ministers and people in government are slowly strangling and killing sub-postmasters.” He informed Times Radio: “This government needs to be punished at the ballot box.”

The Government stated there was no proof to again up Mr Staunton’s claims. A spokesman stated: “We utterly refute these allegations. The Government has sped up compensation to victims, and consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims. To suggest any actions or conversations happened to the contrary is incorrect. In fact, upon appointment, Mr Staunton was set concrete objectives, in writing, to focus on reaching settlements with claimants – clear evidence of the Government’s intent.”

Alan Bates final month rejected a “cruel” and “derisory” compensation supply from the Government, which he stated was solely a few sixth of what he requested. The former sub-postmaster’s lengthy struggle for justice was proven within the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.