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Early evening summary
Henry Staunton, the former Post Office chair, has told MPs that he is the victim of a “smear campaign” by the government because he stood up for the victims of the Horizon IT scandal. (See 2.46pm.) He also implied that Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, misled MPs when she said Staunton was being sacked partly because he was the subject of a misconduct inquiry. Staunton told MPs that it was Nick Read, the Post Office chief executive, who is actually the subject of this inquiry. (See 2.58pm.) Kevin Hollinrake, the post services minister, subsequently told Politco:
We were very clear when we agreed to part company with Henry Staunton that we wouldn’t discuss those kinds of matters. So I think to talk about that, as a former chairman of a board, where you are bound by confidentiality, both while you’re in the role, and after, I think is entirely inappropriate.
As Politco points out, Badenoch herself did not seem too bothered about confidentiality when she told MPs that Staunton was the subject of bullying allegations.
Paul Scully, the former minister for London, has apologised for claiming yesterday there are “no-go areas” in parts of London and Birmingham. (See 3.52pm.)
Downing Street has said Lee Anderson’s comment about Sadiq Khan was unacceptable because it was wrong “to conflate all Muslims with Islamist extremism”. The PM’s spokesperson provided this explanation after Michael Tomlinson, the illegal migration minister, was cut off in a radio interview after he repeatedly refused to say what was wrong with Anderson’s comment. (See 9.21am.)
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