'I am the subject of a smear campaign': Sacked Post Office boss hits out at Kemi Badenoch following public row over exit

27 February 2024, 16:37 | Updated: 27 February 2024, 16:57

Henry Staunton (left) was fired as chairman of the Post Office last month. He has since engaged in a public row with Business Secretary Kemi Bedenoch (right)
Henry Staunton (left) was fired as chairman of the Post Office last month. He has since engaged in a public row with Business Secretary Kemi Bedenoch (right). Picture: Alamy

By Christian Oliver

The former chairman of the Post Office has claimed he is the victim of a 'smear campaign' following a public fallout with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch over his dismissal.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Henry Staunton was fired as Post Office boss last month following supposed frustration within the Department for Business over the state-owned company's governance amid the fallout of the Horizon scandal.

Mr Staunton, who became chairman of the Post Office in December 2022, has also faced bullying allegations since his exit and claims that he was increasingly erratic in the months before his departure.

Amid the public fallout with Badenoch since his dismissal, Mr Staunton has claimed he was told to delay payouts to sub-postmasters ahead of the next election.

The former Post Office boss has now stood by his claims as he addressed MPs at the Business and Trade Committee this afternoon, protesting that he has had his reputation "trashed".

Former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton, giving evidence to the Business and Trade Select Committee in the House of Commons, Tuesday
Former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton, giving evidence to the Business and Trade Select Committee in the House of Commons, Tuesday. Picture: Alamy

Read More: Sell Post Office to Amazon for a pound, Horizon scandal hero Alan Bates tells MPs

Read More: Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells formally stripped of CBE by King Charles

Asked by Labour MP Ian Lavery what it had been like to have his reputation "trashed" since his exit, Mr Staunton asked if he could read a short statement and give his version of events.

"What happened to these poor postmasters and families is a tragedy and it is a scandal they have been failed time and time again," he told MPs.

He said the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which aired over the beginning of the year, "put a rocket under things" the were moving "far too slowly".

The sacked chairman called for more to be done to make the compensation scheme more generous and said the process needed to be less bureaucratic.

He continued: "We all know that things were moving far too slowly ... and the reason why people have latched onto what I said in the Sunday Times was that finally someone was being honest about how deep seated the problems were and why nothing was being done,"

Mr Staunton said he would have "achieved something if the sunlight of disinfectant, which the Secretary of State so approves of, means that Government now lives up to its promises".

"What the public wants to know is why was everything so slow? ... And why does everything remain so slow? I've spoken up on matters of genuine public concern, have been fired, and am now subject to a smear campaign."

Business Secretary Ms Badenoch has however accused Mr Staunton of spreading "made-up anecdotes".

She claimed there was "no evidence whatsoever" that he was asked to delay the payments until the next election and branded it 'a blatant attempt to seek revenge' for his sacking.

Following her announcement to the House of Commons that Mr Staunton was being investigated over bullying allegations, the former chairman said in a statement he was "not aware of any aspect of his conduct which could give rise to such allegations".

Badenoch says allegations against ex-Post Office chairman triggered investigation

Read More: Hundreds of Post Office scandal victims set to be cleared as details of new legislation announced

Read More: Rishi Sunak refuses to repeat Kemi Badenoch's claim ex-Post Office boss ‘lied’ about delaying compensation

It comes after Horizon hero Alan Bates told MPs at the committee that the Post Office should be "sold off to Amazon" as it has become a "money pit for taxpayers".

Giving evidence to MPs over the compensation payments due to be paid to victims of the Horizon scandal, Mr Bates said the culture at the Post Office "has always been the same".

"It hasn't changed, it's been the same for donkeys years. It will not change and you cannot change it," he told MPs.

He went on to say that the Post Office is a "dead duck" and "has been for years", warning it will become a "money pit for taxpayers".

"My personal view is...you should sell it someone like Amazon for a pound, get really good contracts for all the serving sub-postmasters and within a few years you'll have one of the best networks," he told MPs.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
The Princess of Wales arrives for the Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London.

Lady in red: Kate arrives at Westminster Abbey as beaming royal attends Christmas carol service

Police are putting together the assassin's movements

From cross-country trip to hostel stay: How New York assassin travelled and lay in wait before shooting health boss

boohoo Collective Launch Party.

Boohoo bosses' stalking claims investigated after surveillance tech found near offices

Tory peer Lord Rami Ranger who 'harassed and bullied' a female journalist has been stripped of his CBE following an order from King Charles.

Tory peer who 'harassed and bullied' journalist stripped of CBE after King orders it to be 'cancelled'

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, delivered his final speech in the House of Lords on Thursday.

Justin Welby apologises for hurting abuse survivors in ‘tone-deaf’ speech that left victims ‘appalled’

TikTok signage

TikTok facing ban in the US after losing court fight over links to China

Putin said during a meeting with Lukashenko that the Oreshnik ballistic missile (not pictured) could be fired from Belarus

Russia 'to fire its hypersonic Oreshnik missiles from Belarus next year', Putin claims in chilling warning

Nine of his victims were students at Lagan College and two were teenage Army cadets.

Former school welfare officer handed three-year sentence for sexually assaulting teen girls

Leanne McDonnell was accused of owning a banned dog (dog pictured is not the animal in question).

Stratford deadly dog attack victim named after being savaged by 'dangerous fighting dog'

Japanese singer and actress Miho Nakayama poses for photo during an interview in Osaka on February 4, 2016. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, 54-year-old Miho Nakayama was found dead at her home in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

'I have been to hell and back': Heartbreaking final message as Japan’s ‘most beautiful woman’ found dead in bathtub

Calin Georgescu was due to face off against a pro-EU candidate on Sunday

Romania orders rerun of election first round won by far-right pro-Russia candidate after 'Kremlin interference'

Elon Musk carries his son X Æ A-Xii on his shoulders

Elon Musk gave £16m to super PAC promoting Trump’s position on abortion

Inquests into the deaths of the five people killed in the helicopter crash will begin next month.

Leicester stadium helicopter disaster inquest to start next month - six years after tragedy

Exclusive
The UK is 'heading for a recession', a top recruiter has warned

UK 'heading for recession' amid 'jobs car crash' sparked by national insurance hike, recruitment giant warns

The popular disco music group the Village People on the podium in Hollywood to get a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

YMCA 'has never been a gay anthem' claims Village People songwriter

Prince William is set to join Donald Trump in the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.

Prince William set to join Donald Trump in Notre Dame reopening