A video with harrowing accounts by sub-postmasters who were victims of the Horizon IT scandal was published by the public inquiry into it on Tuesday.
The clips showed how much suffering many of the victims endured as they found themselves thousands of pounds out-of-pocket due to technical problems with the Horizon software system - and then wrongly faced prosecutions for the missing money.
Inquiry chairman Sir Wyn Williams said: “Earlier this year I heard oral evidence and read written statements about the human pain and suffering that unfolded following decisions taken on the basis of data produced by Horizon.
“That pain and suffering was described graphically by some of those most badly affected at hearings which I conducted in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Glasgow and Belfast.”
The inquiry team put out the video as MPs were demanding that the Post Office hand over a possible “smoking gun” note which could shed light on whether a top civil servant gave a go-slow order on compensating sub-postmasters victims of the Horizon scandal.
Liam Byrne, chairman of the Commons business committee, said it had “sent for” the alleged note by former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton who claims he was told by a senior Whitehall figure to “stall” spending on compensation to sub-postmasters ahead of the next general election.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has rejected the claim and a war of words has erupted between her and Mr Staunton who she forced out of the top postal job.
Mr Byrne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have the power to send for people and papers.
“Yesteday I invited Mr Staunton to come before the committee next week.
“Today, we will be sending for the papers that we need to try and get to the truth.
“Crucially, we will be sending for that file note that Mr Staunton says that he made that sets out the ‘go-slow order’ that he says he received from senior civil servants in the department, but which the Secretary of State professed no knowledge of yesterday.”
Mr Staunton, who was sacked by the Business Secretary last month, used a Sunday Times interview to suggest that the alleged request was linked to concerns about the cost of Horizon scandal compensation heading into the election.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Ms Badenoch accused Mr Staunton of making “completely false” accusations and said it had confirmed in her mind that “I made the correct decision in dismissing him”.
She told MPs: “Mr Staunton claimed that I told him that someone’s got to take the rap for the Horizon scandal and that was the reason for his dismissal. That was not the reason at all.
“I dismissed him because there were serious concerns about his behaviour as chair.”
Mr Staunton took up the Post Office role in December 2022 following nine years as chairman of WH Smith.
On Sunday, the BBC reported a spokesperson for Mr Staunton said his client stood by the accusations made in the Sunday Times and there was no investigation into him.
In his newspaper interview, he said: “Early on, I was told by a fairly senior person to stall on spend on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon and to limp, in quotation marks - I did a file note on it - limp into the election.
“It was not an anti-postmaster thing, it was just straight financials. I didn’t ask, because I said ‘I’m having no part of it - I’m not here to limp into the election, it’s not the right thing to do by postmasters’.
“The word ‘limp’ gives you a snapshot of where they were.”
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said ministers must ensure claims the Government had looked to stall Horizon compensation payments are “shown to be false in no uncertain terms”.
While Ms Badenoch said the Government would not publish all relevant correspondence between the Government and Post Office due to the ongoing inquiry, she did said that ministers would “consider publishing correspondence between departments and Mr Staunton in accordance with Freedom of Information rules”.
More than 700 branch managers were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.
Hundreds of subpostmasters and subpostmistresses are still awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
