Ex-Post Office chairman Henry Staunton was told not to ‘rip off the band aid’ with compensation payments

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A high civil servant told the ex-Post Office chairman to “hobble” into the normal election and not “rip off the band aid” by way of compensation payments to subpostmasters, it has been revealed.

After enterprise secretary Kemi Badenoch accused Henry Staunton of mendacity for saying he had been told to stall compensation payouts for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal, he unearthed a memo by which he recorded the instruction.

It revealed that Sarah Munby, who was then the enterprise division’s everlasting secretary, warned Mr Staunton that “politicians do not necessarily like to confront reality” and that “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues”.

The contemporaneous notice of their first assembly on January 5 final yr, revealed by The Times, raises questions on Ms Badenoch’s denial of Mr Staunton’s declare, in addition to her determination to accuse him of mendacity.

It emerged after she told the Commons there was “no evidence whatsoever” of his account and branded it “a blatant attempt to seek revenge” for his sacking.

The notice may even add to stress on the authorities to set a deadline date for payments to wronged postmasters, which enterprise and commerce committee chairman Liam Byrne has known as for.

The row between Mr Staunton and Ms Badenoch erupted when he gave an explosive interview to the Sunday Times by which he stated he was told to “stall” on compensation for subpostmasters forward of the normal election.

Staunton, who was ousted final month after lower than a yr in the function, stated he had been told to enable the Tories to “limp into” the vote.

But Ms Badenoch hit again accusing him of “lies” and stated he had been faraway from his publish due to “concerns over his conduct”.

She additionally claimed he was being investigated over bullying allegations earlier than he was fired as chairman, and that considerations had been raised about his willingness to co-operate with the probe.

The Horizon scandal noticed greater than 700 postmasters handed prison convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s defective Horizon system made it seem as if cash was lacking at their branches.

Mr Staunton’s notice, as reported by The Times, recounts him telling Ms Munby a month after taking his publish that he “had been on over a dozen public company boards and not seen one with so many challenges”.

She was “sympathetic” with his arguments, however stated that “politicians do not necessarily like to confront reality” and in the run up to a normal election “ there was no appetite to ‘rip off the band aid’”.

The notice suggests Ms Munby was referring to the total funds of the Post Office, however Mr Staunton stated the two largest spending objects had been compensation payments and changing the Horizon system.

The Liberal Democrats demanded an investigation by the authorities’s ethics advisor, suggesting Ms Badenoch could have breached the ministerial code.

Deputy chief Daisy Cooper stated: “Time and again Conservative ministers have undermined the integrity of our politics. Now, this row embroiling Kemi Badenoch raises a whole series of new questions to which we urgently need answers.

“If Badenoch misled Parliament then she clearly breached the Ministerial Code.

“Subpostmasters – who are at the heart of this whole scandal – deserve justice, financial redress and the truth.”

Ms Munby reportedly denies telling Mr Staunton to maintain again on compensation for sub-postmasters.