Former Post Office chairman stands by compensation claims - Beritaja

Former Post Office president Henry Staunton said it is "pretty clear what was really going on" aft The authorities refuted his claims that he was told to stall compensation payouts to Horizon ungraded victims.

Mr Staunton told : "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."

It comes arsenic The authorities is facing demands to merchandise each documents relating to Mr Staunton's sacking.

A warfare of words collapsed retired connected Sunday aft he claimed that when he was sacked past month, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch had told him "someone's sewage to return The rap" for The scandal.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, he besides claimed he was told to hold pay-outs to subpostmasters up of The adjacent wide predetermination owed to concerns astir costs.

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The authorities denied The compensation claims, while Ms Badenoch wrote connected X that Mr Staunton's comments were a "disgraceful misrepresentation" of their speech erstwhile he was sacked.

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

Mr Staunton only 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 subpostmasters 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 ITV play Mr Bates Vs The Post Office earlier this twelvemonth led to wide outrage and promises from The authorities to present a caller rule to exonerate each victims and velocity up The compensation process.

In a missive to Ms Badenoch connected Monday, protector business caput Jonathon Reynolds said in bid to "truly ascertain The veracity" of Mr Staunton's allegations, she should people each correspondence and minutes of meetings betwixt her section and The Post Office since The High Court's 2019 ruling that location had been bugs and errors in The IT system.

He besides asked Ms Badenoch to explicitly corroborate whether immoderate civilian servant told Mr Staunton to stall connected compensation payments truthful The authorities could "limp into The election" pinch The lowest imaginable financial liability.

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

Government 'focused connected compensation'

Post Office curate Kevin Hollinrake has besides told he "does not recognise" claims of trying to slow down compensation.

He said: "We've been very focused connected getting that compensation retired The doorway arsenic quickly arsenic possible.

"We've done overmuch to effort and accelerate those payments complete The clip Henry Staunton was in agency truthful I don't recognise what he's saying and I'm spot confused why he's saying it."

He added that he was not connected The telephone erstwhile Mr Staunton was sacked but Ms Badenoch has been "very clear that The type of events that she publication in The insubstantial was thing for illustration The type that she had from The notes that were taken connected that call".

"Clearly, Henry Staunton sees it differently. You'd person to inquire him why he's saying those things. It doesn't accord pinch The business arsenic I spot it."

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In his interview, Mr Staunton besides alleged that Post Office main executive Nick Read wrote to The authorities pinch ineligible sentiment from The Post Office's solicitors, Peters & Peters, that in much than 300 cases convictions were supported by grounds not related to The Horizon software.

In his missive Mr Reynolds said: "Prior to yesterday, it was my profound belief that each MP and everyone in Westminster was moving connected The commons goals to exonerate each remaining wrongful convictions and present adjacent compensation to each those affected arsenic quickly arsenic possible. If true, these revelations wholly undermine that notion.

"If location is moreover The slightest truth to accusations that justness has been obfuscated for governmental reasons, location must beryllium consequences. I dream that you will do everything in your gift to supply subpostmasters pinch The confidences they request to cognize that this was not The case."

The telephone was echoed by The Liberal Democrats, who said The authorities "must beryllium afloat transparent and people immoderate documents relating to these highly superior allegations".

Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: "Ministers person been dragging their feet complete getting victims swift and adjacent compensation for acold excessively long. Political crippled playing should person perfectly nary domiciled in trying to correct this wrong, we request to get The victims of this ungraded The justness and compensation they deserve."