Post Office chairman Henry Staunton ousted amid row with authorities

The chairman of the Post Office is being compelled out of the position amid frustration in Whitehall over the state-owned firm’s governance because it reels from the Horizon IT scandal.

Sky News has learnt that Henry Staunton, who solely turned chairman of the Post Office in December 2022 after a protracted profession in FTSE boardrooms, was this weekend instructed by Kemi Badenoch, the enterprise secretary, that he was to get replaced amid mounting pressure with the federal government.

Sources mentioned this weekend that Ms Badenoch had notified him of the choice in a phone name on Saturday afternoon.

The hunt for a brand new chairman will come as the federal government tries to pressure by way of laws that can extra shortly compensate a whole bunch of sub-postmasters who have been wrongly convicted over the faulty software which triggered Britain’s largest miscarriage of justice.

One insider mentioned there had been a number of sources of pressure between the Post Office chairman and the federal government in current months.

Among them, they mentioned, was a row over the possible appointment of a brand new senior unbiased director to switch Ben Tidswell, who’s due to step down in the coming months.

Mr Staunton and a variety of colleagues are mentioned to have been eager for Andrew Darfoor, a former monetary companies government who is without doubt one of the firm’s current non-executive administrators, to take the place.

However, the federal government is known to need to appoint a Whitehall insider to the position because it appears to strengthen the Post Office’s company governance.

Tensions additionally arose final yr over the mistaken cost of bonuses to Nick Read, the chief government, which have been linked to its cooperation with the Horizon inquiry.

Insiders mentioned, nevertheless, that Mr Staunton’s exit was in a roundabout way associated to the Horizon scandal itself.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch mentioned: “The Post Office is rightfully under a heightened level of scrutiny at this time.

“With that in thoughts, I felt there was a necessity for brand new management, and we have now parted methods with mutual consent.”

A government spokesperson said: “In a cellphone name earlier in the present day, the secretary of state for enterprise and commerce and Henry Staunton, chair of Post Office Limited (POL), agreed to half methods by mutual consent.

“An interim will be appointed shortly and a recruitment process for a new chair will be launched in due course, in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.”

Mr Staunton couldn’t be reached for touch upon Saturday.

The authorities’s shareholding in Post Office Limited is managed by UK Government Investments (UKGI), which can also be liable for the general public’s stakes in Channel 4, the Met Office and different state-owned corporations.

The Post Office depends on authorities funding to function, and has been struggling in recent times amid harder competitors throughout the sectors wherein it operates.

Read extra:
Fujitsu boss admitted staff knew of Horizon bugs
Former sub-postmaster ‘overwhelmed’ after conviction overturned

Mr Staunton beforehand chaired Phoenix Group, the insurance coverage firm, and WH Smith, the excessive road retailer.

His government profession included a stint at ITV, whereas he held different boardroom seats at corporations equivalent to BSkyB – which was the listed firm that owns Sky News – and Ladbrokes.

The choice to switch him comes as the federal government tries to exert a firmer grip on the fallout from the Horizon disaster, with Rishi Sunak pledging new legal guidelines to “swiftly exonerate and compensate” these affected.

“People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own,” the prime minister instructed MPs earlier this month.

“The victims must get justice and compensation. Sir Wyn Williams’ inquiry is undertaking crucial work to undo, to expose what went wrong, and we’ve paid almost £150m in compensation to over 2,500 victims.”

The eventual invoice is predicted to complete within the area of £1.5bn, though extra victims of the Horizon scandal have continued to return ahead because the broadcasting of an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

Sky News revealed earlier this month that Ms Badenoch was in search of pressing talks with Fujitsu to thrash out a compensation package deal for sub-postmasters affected by the scandal.

Ms Badenoch wrote to Takahito Tokita, the Japanese firm’s chief government, within the wake of an acknowledgement from Fujitsu bosses that it had a “moral obligation” to contribute to the compensation invoice.

“As you may know, my department is at the forefront of our government’s efforts to right the wrongs of the past,” Ms Badenoch wrote earlier this month.

“I am committed to ensuring that postmasters affected get the justice they deserve.

“This is why the UK authorities introduced new laws… to overturn wrongful convictions and a plan to make sure swifter entry to compensation.”

The newest shake-up of the Post Office’s management is available in the identical month that Paula Vennells, its former chief government, surrendered her CBE after rising public and political stress.

Kevin Hollinrake, the postal affairs minister, has mentioned he would help prosecutions of these concerned within the scandal and its cover-up.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch will seem on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, which begins at 8.30am tomorrow.