The row over compensation for wrongly convicted postmasters returned to parliament again today. Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, is currently embroiled in a war of words with Henry Staunton, the man whom she sacked as chairman of the Post Office. He claims that he was told to delay compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal; she denies this and insists Staunton ‘had a lack of grip getting justice for postmasters.’
It was left to the Business Committee to try and establish the veracity of the pair’s claims. Oral evidence was this morning submitted by officials in the Department for Trade. The panel of MPs heard from Carl Creswell, who oversees compensation payments for Post Office operators. He said that, if there had been any order to delay, ‘someone would have mentioned it to me’ adding emphatically this was ‘Not at all’ the case. He insisted that he had worked ‘very closely’ with Sarah Munby, the permanent secretary whom Staunton alleged had told him to delay payouts.
Creswell also backed Badenoch’s claim that there had been bullying allegations against Staunton
‘Every conversation I had with her, with ministers, with other senior civil servants in other parts of government,’ Creswell continued, ‘have all been about how we can pay out this money more quickly, so, no, that is completely incorrect, that assertion.’
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