Thought it had done no wrong No interest in clearing names Dragged its feet on compensation

POST Office bosses had "no appetite" to exonerate subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted over the Horizon IT scandal, its former chairman claimed yesterday.

- GRAHAM HISCOTT

Henry Staunton also argued the state-owned firm and the government "dragged their feet" over paying compensation.

He became chairman in 2022 but was sacked by Tory then-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch in January.

He claimed that when he joined, management were reluctant to CRITIC accept High Court judg- Ms Bad ments that the Post Office had been wrong to pursue prosecutions. "They didn't fully accept it, that was my impression; that somehow the case hadn't been put well or whatever," Mr Staunton told the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

Mr Staunton, who accused the last government of wanting to delay payments to subpostmasters, which could reach £1billion, until after the general election, claimed there was "no appetite for exoneration".