Top official in Post Office row breaks silence on compensation delay claims

The high official on the coronary heart of a unprecedented row with the previous Post Office chief has hit again at claims she ordered him to decelerate compensation for postmasters.

Senior civil servant Sarah Munby has been accused of telling Henry Staunton to not give attention to “long-term issues” and ordering him to “hobble” into the subsequent election. It comes after ex-chairman Mr Staunton claimed he was advised to “go slow” on awarding compensation to postmasters affected by the Horizon IT scandal together with Alan Bates.

But in a response revealed right this moment she wrote: “It is not true that I made any instruction, either explicitly or implicitly, to Mr Staunton to in anyway delay compensation payments. I did not.”

Pressure is mounting on the Government to provide a full account of what occurred after Mr Staunton – who was accused of mendacity by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch – launched a memo he says backs up his declare. He claims Ms Munby, who was then everlasting secretary on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), suggested to not “rip off the band aid” when it comes to the Post Office’s funds.

During the assembly in January final 12 months, the highest official allegedly warned him that “politicians do not necessarily like to confront reality”. He additionally stated he’d been advised “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues”.

Ms Munby responded: “Neither Mr Staunton’s note, nor the contemporaneous note that my office made, suggest otherwise. In fact, no mention of delaying compensation appears in either note.”

Although it does not particularly confer with compensation for Horizon scandal victims, Mr Staunton advised The Times he believes that is its that means. Ms Munby stated her recollection of the dialogue was very totally different, claiming she’d advised the Post Office chief that department closures or greater Government funding – which he’d recommended – had been “likely to be politically very difficult”.

She added that the compensation fund was stored separate from the Post Office’s day-to-day budgets. Because of this, Ms Munby stated, Mr Staunton’s interpretation “does not make sense”.

The civil servant’s response got here hours after a tense PMQs session throughout which Rishi Sunak twice refused to repeat Ms Badenoch’s declare that Mr Staunton had lied. The PM was urged by Keir Starmer to open an investigation into the previous Post Office chief’s allegations.

And the Lib Dems have referred to as on ethics advisor Sir Laurie Magnus to analyze. In a letter to Sir Laurie, deputy chief Daisy Cooper wrote: “Given that Mr Staunton continues to stand by his allegations, there is a clear question as to who is telling the truth and whether Kemi Badenoch has knowingly misled Parliament. It is clearly in the public interest for the facts of this important matter to be determined.

“In your position as Ethics Adviser, I urge you to open an investigation into this matter and accordingly decide whether or not or not a breach of the Code has been dedicated by the Secretary of State.”

Following his allegation that he was ordered to stall until after the election, Ms Badenoch hit back on Monday by telling MPs he had spread “made-up anecdotes” following his dismissal.

The Horizon IT scandal saw more than 700 subpostmasters and subpostmistresses handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches. Hundreds of subpostmasters and subpostmistresses are still awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.