January 28, 2024, 08:10 | Updated: January 28, 2024, 08:19
Post Office chairman Henry Stanton has been sacked from his role by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch following weeks of public criticism over the company’s handling of the Horizon IT scandal, which saw its deputy postmaster general wrongly jailed.
Photo: Getty/Congress
Following news of the chairman’s firing, the postmaster general said the Postal Service’s board had done nothing “to hold officers accountable.”
It was announced Saturday evening that Postal Service Chairman Henry Stanton has been removed as chairman of the company.
Mr Stanton was sacked from his post after a telephone conversation with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch amid reports that there was a dispute between the government and the Post Office following renewed attention to the Horizon scandal.
Gerry Brown, postmaster general of Hadley, Suffolk, spoke to LBC’s Matthew Wright at a breakfast meeting on Sunday, calling for a change in the culture within the post office.
Brown said Stanton, who was not in the post at the time of the Horizon incident, has been unable to change the culture within the Postal Service for a long time since taking office.
He said, “Yes, he wasn’t there when the Horizon scandal started, but now that the Horizon scandal is going on, he’s there.
“He, the board and non-executive directors have done nothing to change the culture within the Post Office leadership.
“The job of the board, particularly the non-executive directors, is to hold management to account, investigate and investigate. In my opinion, they have not done that.”
Postmaster General: “There has been no effort to change the culture within the post office”
It comes as tensions between the Post Office and the government have escalated in recent weeks following public outcry over the Horizon scandal, in which 700 sub-postmasters and deputy postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted due to a flaw in the IT system. Mr. Badenoch will succeed Mr. Stanton.
read more: MPs warn of possible ‘second scandal’ over ‘flawed’ Post Office IT system
read more: Fujitsu promises to compensate victims of Post Office Horizon IT scandal
An insider claimed there were several sources of tension between the two agencies following a new investigation into the Post Office Horizon incident.
In recent weeks, disputes have erupted between the Post Office and the government, one of which focused on the appointment of the post of senior director, which was to be vacant.
Other tensions arose over a mistakenly paid bonus to the Post Office’s chief executive and whether he cooperated with the Horizon investigation.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the two sides have agreed to “part ways with mutual consent” and an interim appointee will be appointed “soon.”
Mr Stanton only joined the state-owned company in December 2022 after serving as chairman of WH Smith for nine years.
Photo: Diet Television
Mr Stanton only joined the state-owned company in December 2022 after serving as chairman of WH Smith for nine years.
He was tasked with leading the board of directors at a time when management was in turmoil in the aftermath of what was said to be Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice.
More than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postal workers have been prosecuted by the Post Office after flawed accounting software Horizon made it appear as if money was missing from stores.
The story sparked protests across the country after it was dramatized in the ITV series Mr Bates vs the Post Office earlier this month.
Hundreds of postmasters are still waiting for compensation, despite the government announcing that those with convictions quashed will be eligible for a payout of £600,000.
A government spokesperson said: “In a telephone conversation earlier today, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Post Office Limited (POL) Chairman Henry Stanton agreed to part ways by mutual consent.
Cabinet meeting in Downing Street.
Photo: Getty
A government spokesperson said: “In a telephone conversation earlier today, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Post Office Limited (POL) Chairman Henry Stanton agreed to part ways by mutual consent.
“In accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, an interim chair will be appointed shortly and the process of recruiting a new chair will begin.”
“The Post Office is now, of course, under a higher level of oversight. With that in mind, I feel there is a need for new leadership and, with the mutual consent of both parties, That’s when I realized what I was doing,” he said.