Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Badenoch says Post Office needs new direction

The minister also said she “certainly� expected Japanese tech firm Fujitsu to pay compensation over the scandal

Badenoch says Post Office needs new direction

BUSINESS secretary Kemi Badenoch said last Sunday (28) that she had sacked the chairman of the Post Office amid tensions over the scandal of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly convicted of theft due to faulty accounting software.

An ITV television drama in early January that told the story of the subpostmasters’ ordeal and their ongoing battle to clear their names and secure compensation shocked the nation.


The strong public reaction prompted prime minister Rishi Sunak to announce in parliament that his government would legislate to ensure the victims of what has been called Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice were “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.

“We had a conversation and it was agreed that it was better that the Post Office had new leadership going forward,” Badenoch told Sky News, confirming that she had removed Post Office chief Henry Staunton.

There has been intense criticism of previous Post Office chief Paula Vennells and others who are accused of allowing the prosecutions to continue even after problems with the software were known about.

Staunton, appointed in December 2022, was not at the helm during the installation of the faulty Horizon software or the subsequent legal cases.

“But I decided that given all of the difficulties the Post Office is having, it’s not just about Horizon; it’s about the entire business model, how we make it work, that we needed someone who could chair a board that was able to deal with these things effectively,” Badenoch added.

The minister also said she “certainly” expected Japanese tech firm Fujitsu to pay compensation over the scandal.

Glitches in the IT system made it look as if money was missing leading to the conviction of over 700 subpostmasters for theft or false accounting between 1999 and 2015.

Some went to jail, were made bankrupt or lost their homes. Four took their own lives.

Badenoch said she had written to the chairman of Fujitsu asking for meetings.

“Fujitsu... are very much a part of this story, it’s not just the Post Office management and I hope that they [Fujitsu] will do the right thing,” she said.

Head of Fujitsu’s European arm Paul Patterson told a public inquiry probing the scandal earlier in January that he was appalled and that the company had a “moral obligation” to help compensate the subpostmasters.

More For You

Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian leaders recognised in King's birthday honours list

Professor Jagtar Singh (Photo: Facebook)

Asian leaders recognised in King's birthday honours list

ASIAN health workers, academics, charity workers and campaigners are among those who have been recognised in the King’s birthday honours list announced tonight (13).

More than a thousand recipients have been awarded for their exceptional achievements, with a particular focus on those who have given their time to public service, according to the Cabinet Office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less