Government's bureaucracy hindered compensation for Post Office scandal victims, Badenoch says

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader and former business secretary, has criticised the Government during the Horizon IT inquiry for letting "bureaucracy to get in the way of redress" for subpostmasters who were wronged.

Mrs Badenoch, alongside former postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake, expressed their desire to distribute compensation, stating they "wanted to get the money out there" but were consistently met with obstacles by government officials. In her testimony, she remarked that the Post Office would not exist in its current state if it were a private company, describing it as a "20th century organisation that is struggling to evolve in a 21st century world".

She continued, "But we are keeping it alive — the result is that it is in a permanent state of stress and that will always impact culture."

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Following her evidence session, Paul Patterson, the European head of Horizon's manufacturer Fujitsu, conveyed his distrust towards the Post Office concerning the investigation of shortfalls in subpostmasters' accounts. Mr Patterson emphasised his concern about the reliance on a single data source for investigations, saying, "I would like to be satisfied that they are using more than just one data source, and I’ve not seen anything which tells me that they’re using more than one data source."

Sam Stein KC, representing several subpostmasters, then questioned Patterson's confidence in the Post Office's ability to handle the matter accurately, to which Patterson confirmed, "Well on this particular topic, I absolutely don’t trust the Post Office."

In her statement on Monday, Mrs Badenoch commented on the sluggish redress process, saying: "We had briefings on the issue with officials, and it was quite clear to me that we were allowing bureaucracy to get in the way of redress too much of the time."

She added, "Kevin (Hollinrake) and I wanted to get the money out there, and we were always given a reason why we couldn’t."

Delving into the reasons she believed bureaucracy was an obstacle, Mrs Badenoch told the investigation: "I feel that there is often too much bureaucracy in the way of getting things done, because people are worried about process."

She explained, "They are worried about: if things go wrong, they’ll be on the hook for that."

As a result, "So they carry out lots of checks and balances well beyond what I think is required in order to deliver the right outcome."

When Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked who was responsible for letting bureaucracy hinder redress, Mrs Badenoch responded: "Well, the government machine." She added: "I think I remember asking a question like: ‘Why can’t we just give them the money? '"

Before her testimony, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds expressed that the Post Office's corporate culture lies at the heart of the Horizon scandal. However, he maintained that the institution remains "an incredibly important institution in national life".

Mr Reynolds acknowledged his "ultimate responsibility" for ensuring subpostmasters receive full, fair, and prompt compensation. He noted a "significant increase in the pace at which compensation has been paid" since the general election and assured the inquiry that this did not compromise the fairness or accuracy of the payments.

In further evidence on Monday, Mr Reynolds highlighted that subpostmasters are not adequately compensated for the services the public expects from the Post Office, suggesting that pay increases would necessitate "very significant changes to the overall business model". In his witness statement, he commented: "It is clear that the Post Office’s corporate culture is at the root of this scandal, and I want to make sure the system works for subpostmasters."

He also voiced support for a reform agenda aimed at realising this goal.