Ex-Post Office chairman was told not to 'rip off the band aid' with compensation payments

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 99705.html

Ex-Post Office chairman Henry Staunton unearthed a memo in which he recorded being told to ‘hobble’ into the election and not ‘rip off the bandaid’ with compensation payments

A top civil servant told the ex-Post Office chairman to “hobble” into the general election and not “rip off the band aid” in terms of compensation payments to subpostmasters, it has been revealed.

After business secretary Kemi Badenoch accused Henry Staunton of lying for saying he had been told to stall compensation payouts for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal, he unearthed a memo in which he recorded the instruction.

It revealed that Sarah Munby, who was then the business department’s permanent secretary, warned Mr Staunton that “politicians do not necessarily like to confront reality” and that “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues”.

The contemporaneous note of their first meeting on January 5 last year, revealed by The Times, raises questions about Ms Badenoch’s denial of Mr Staunton’s claim, as well as her decision to accuse him of lying.

It emerged after she told the Commons there was “no evidence whatsoever” of his account and branded it “a blatant attempt to seek revenge” for his sacking.

The note will also add to pressure on the government to set a deadline date for payments to wronged postmasters, which business and trade committee chairman Liam Byrne has called for.

The row between Mr Staunton and Ms Badenoch erupted when he gave an explosive interview to the Sunday Times in which he said he was told to “stall” on compensation for subpostmasters ahead of the general election.

Staunton, who was ousted last month after less than a year in the role, said he had been told to allow the Tories to “limp into” the vote.

But Ms Badenoch hit back accusing him of "lies" and said he had been removed from his post because of "concerns over his conduct".

She also claimed he was being investigated over bullying allegations before he was fired as chairman, and that concerns were raised about his willingness to co-operate with the probe.

The Horizon scandal saw more than 700 postmasters handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

Mr Staunton’s note, as reported by The Times, recounts him telling Ms Munby a month after taking his post that he “had been on over a dozen public company boards and not seen one with so many challenges”.

She was “sympathetic” with his arguments, but said that “politicians do not necessarily like to confront reality” and in the run up to a general election “ there was no appetite to ‘rip off the band aid’”.

The note suggests Ms Munby was referring to the overall finances of the Post Office, but Mr Staunton said the two biggest spending items were compensation payments and replacing the Horizon system.

Ms Munby reportedly denies telling Mr Staunton to hold back on compensation for sub-postmasters.