Ministers deny claims government wanted to stall Horizon compensation payouts

Henry Staunton said the request appeared to be an attempt to reduce the government’s financial liability before the general election. Photograph: Sky News video grab

Ministers have denied claims by the former Post Office chair that the government wanted to stall compensation payouts to victims of the Horizon scandal so the Conservatives could “limp into” the general election.

Henry Staunton, who was sacked by the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, last month amid anger over the Horizon scandal, said the request came soon after he took up the role in December 2022.

He also alleged that Nick Read, the Post Office chief executive, tried in January to dissuade the government from proceeding with blanket exonerations for operators.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Staunton, 75, said the request to slow down compensation payouts appeared to be an attempt to reduce the government’s financial liability before the general election this year.

“Early on, I was told by a fairly senior person to stall on spend on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon, and to limp, in quotation marks – I did a file note on it – limp into the election,” Staunton said.

“It was not an anti-postmaster thing, it was just straight financials. I didn’t ask, because I said ‘I’m having no part of it – I’m not here to limp into the election, it’s not the right thing to do by postmasters.’ The word ‘limp’ gives you a snapshot of where they were.”

The government denied Staunton’s claim. It said Staunton was set “concrete objectives” to reach settlements and added: “The government has sped up compensation to victims, and consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims. To suggest any actions or conversations happened to the contrary is incorrect.”

Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, said Labour would demand answers from ministers when the Commons returns this week.

He said on X: “These are extremely serious allegations about the government’s management of the Post Office and treatment of victims of the Horizon scandal. We will be seeking answers when parliament resumes this week.”

Kevin Hollinrake, the minister for the Post Office, said that in his 15 months in office, he had “never encountered any resistance from ministers or officials to our objective of exonerating or fairly compensating postmasters who’ve been affected by [the] Horizon scandal”.

Michael Tomlinson, the home office minister, told Times Radio that he did not “accept or recognise” Staunton’s allegations.

“We are encouraging postmasters to come forward. We have brought legislation through the House of Commons which will enable those payments to be made, and that is something that we are encouraging rather than anything,” he said. “I just don’t recognise anything to the contrary of that.”

More than 900 post office operators were prosecuted for stealing money because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system, in what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.

About £140m in compensation has been paid out so far, although many victims are experiencing delays and say the scheme is too bureaucratic.

Staunton, a former chair of WH Smith, alleged Read wrote to the justice secretary, Alex Chalk, last month in an attempt to persuade the government against mass exonerations.

The letter included a legal opinion from the Post Office’s solicitors, Peters & Peters, which suggested many convictions could be defended on appeal, Staunton told the Sunday Times.

He added: “Basically it was trying to undermine the exoneration argument. It was, ‘Most people haven’t come forward because they are guilty as charged’ – ie, think very carefully about exoneration.”

Staunton said he told Read the opinions in the letter were not endorsed by him or “at least half” of the Post Office’s board members, and that “if this got out, we’d be crucified, and rightly so”.

A Post Office source denied to the Sunday Times that the letter was seeking to influence the government.

Ministers have pressed ahead with emergency legislation that will quash all Post Office convictions related to Horizon.

A spokesperson for the Post Office said: “Post Office is very aware of the terrible impact from this appalling scandal and miscarriage of justice. We refute both the assertions put to us and the words and phrases allegedly used, and are focused on supporting the government’s plans for faster justice and redress for victims. No one within Post Office is out of reach of the inquiry.”