The government has today (21 February 2024) published a letter from Sarah Munby, the former Permanent Secretary to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, responding to claims in The Times that government officials told Mr Staunton to stall on compensation payments to wronged postmasters.
The letter confirms that:
- no instruction was made to delay compensation
- the funding discussed in a meeting between the then Permanent Secretary and Mr Staunton was Post Office operational funding, not compensation funding which is separately ringfenced
Responding to Mr Staunton's claims, a government spokesperson said:
Sarah Munby's letter sets the record straight on her exchange with Mr Staunton.
Neither of the records taken at the time suggest the government - either at official or ministerial level - wanted to slow down or delay compensation payments to postmasters, as the Secretary of State said on Monday.
Funding for compensation is separately ringfenced expenditure, and is not accessible to the Post Office for any purpose other than compensation payments.
This is a distraction from the important work to continue to deliver for postmasters, which the Business Secretary is focused on.
