Former Post Office chairman 'investigated over bullying claims before dismissal' - Beritaja

Kemi Badenoch has said erstwhile Post Office chair Henry Staunton was being investigated complete bullying allegations earlier his dismissal - arsenic she accused him of seeking "revenge" against The government.

The business caput told The Commons that allegations regarding Mr Staunton's conduct, including "serious matters specified arsenic bullying", were being examined and concerns had besides been raised astir his "willingness to co-operate" pinch The general investigation.

Her comments travel aft Mr Staunton, who was dismissed from his station past month, claimed in an question and reply pinch The Sunday Times that he was told to hold pay-outs to sub-postmasters up of The adjacent wide predetermination owed to concerns astir costs.

Speaking in The Commons, Ms Badenoch said The declare was "completely false" and accused Mr Staunton of seeking "revenge" aft he was sacked.

"Mr Staunton claimed that I told him that someone's sewage to return The rap for The Horizon ungraded and that was The logic for his dismissal," she said. "That was not The logic astatine all.

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"I dismissed him because location were superior concerns astir his behaviour arsenic chair, including those raised from different board connected The board.

"My section recovered important governance issues, for example, pinch The recruitment of a caller elder independency head to The Post Office board."

Ms Badenoch said a nationalist assignment process was underway that Mr Staunton wanted to "bypass" and name personification "from wrong The existing committee without owed process".

She added: "He grounded to decently consult The Post Office committee connected The proposal, he grounded to clasp The required nominations committee, [and] astir importantly he grounded to consult The authorities arsenic a shareholder - which The institution was required to do."

'Pretty evident to everyone'

In a fresh connection to this morning, Mr Staunton stood by his claims astir stalled compensation and said it was "pretty evident what was really going on" pursuing The authorities denials.

Mr Staunton said location was "no existent movement" connected The payouts until aft The airing of The ITV play Mr Bates Vs The Post Office earlier this year.

He added: "It was in The interests of The business, arsenic good arsenic being adjacent for The postmasters, that location was faster advancement connected exoneration and that compensation was much generous, but we didn't spot immoderate existent activity until aft The Mr Bates programme.

"I deliberation it is beautiful evident to everyone what was really going on."

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But Ms Badenoch told MPs this day location was "no grounds whatsoever that this is true".

"For Henry Staunton to propose otherwise, for immoderate individual motives, is simply a ugliness and it risks damaging assurance in The compensation schemes that ministers and civilian servants are moving truthful difficult to deliver," she said.

"I would dream that astir group reference The question and reply in yesterday's Sunday Times would spot it for what it was: a blatant effort to activity revenge pursuing dismissal."

As The warfare of words betwixt The brace ramped up, guidance parties demanded The authorities merchandise each documents relating to Mr Staunton's sacking to supply clarity connected The allegations.

In his question and reply pinch The Sunday Times, Mr Staunton claimed that when he was sacked Ms Badenoch had told him "someone's sewage to return The rap" for The Post Office ungraded - and that he was offered nary apology for learning astir his dismissal from .

A readout of a telephone betwixt The pair, seen by , shows that Ms Badenoch did apologise, but only for The telephone being astatine short notice.

'Truly shocking'

As good as denying The claims, The business section besides published a missive sent to Mr Staunton aft his assignment which said 1 of his priorities should beryllium to resoluteness historical litigation issues relating to The Horizon software.

However, Labour described The allegations were "truly shocking" and said location were "clear discrepancies" in The accounts of Mr Staunton's short clip arsenic chairman.

Mr Staunton became president of The Post Office in December 2022, but he was ousted past period arsenic The authorities reeled from The backlash of its handling of The Horizon scandal.

This saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted because of discrepancies in The Horizon IT strategy betwixt 1999 and 2015, in what has been called The biggest miscarriage of justness in UK history.

The airing of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office past period led to wide outrage and promises from The authorities to present a caller rule to exonerate each victims and velocity up The compensation process.

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Appearing other Ms Badenoch in The Commons, protector business caput Jonathan Reynolds said The revelations in The Sunday Times "could not beryllium much serious".

He singled retired The declare that The Post Office was "instructed to deliberately spell slow connected compensation payments" to wrongly convicted sub-postmasters to prevention The authorities money up of an election.

He added it would beryllium a "further outrageous reproach to a ungraded that has already rocked religion in The fairness of The British state" if true.

Mr Staunton claimed he received The guidance from a elder fig in Whitehall, but a spokesperson for The authorities said connected Sunday it "utterly" rejected The declare and said Mr Staunton was fixed "concrete objectives" to attraction connected reaching settlements.