Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many director nominations or appointments they have made or approved to the board of the Post Office in each of the years since 2000.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Nominations to the Board of Post Office Limited are generally made by Post Office Limited’s Nominations Committee (‘NomCo’, a sub-Committee of the Post Office Board) with the resulting appointments confirmed by the Board, on the advice of the NomCo. The Shareholder Representative Non-Executive Director sits on NomCo, and the Shareholder (the Department for Business and Trade) approves the appointment. The exceptions to these processes are the appointment of the Shareholder Non-Executive Director and the appointment of the Chair, which are made by the Shareholder.
A historic record of appointments, as set out on Companies House, is provided below.
Name | Position | Occupation | Appointment date | Resignation date |
Ms Maria Luisa Cassoni | Director | Director | 01/02/2001 | 17/06/2002 |
Mr Peter Michael Corbett | Director | Director | 13/11/2001 | 01/07/2009 |
Mr John Basil Larkins | Director | Director | 13/11/2001 | 25/04/2002 |
Mr David William Miller | Director | Director | 13/11/2001 | 31/07/2006 |
Mr Paul Andrew Rich | Director | Director | 13/11/2001 | 15/04/2002 |
Mr Allan Leslie Leighton | Director | Director | 08/01/2002 | 25/03/2009 |
Mr David Mills | Director | Director | 15/04/2002 | 31/12/2005 |
Mr Alan John Munro Barrie | Director | Director | 03/09/2002 | 08/06/2004 |
Mr John Charles Main | Director | Director | 03/09/2002 | 01/07/2003 |
Mr Gordon Ramsay Steele | Director | Director | 03/09/2002 | 31/01/2006 |
Elmar Toime | Director | Director | 10/04/2003 | 16/11/2004 |
Mr Michael Hodgkinson | Director | Director | 01/05/2003 | 31/08/2007 |
Mr John Barnetson Anderson | Director | Director | 01/07/2003 | 14/04/2007 |
Mr Stephen Graham Halliday | Director | Director | 20/08/2003 | 31/07/2006 |
Mr Brian Joseph Goggin | Director | Director | 01/09/2004 | 21/07/2006 |
Mr Alan Ronald Cook | Director | Director | 22/02/2005 | 15/03/2010 |
Mr Richard Phillip Francis | Director | Director | 02/03/2005 | 02/05/2008 |
Ms Sue Rachel Whalley | Director | Director | 01/09/2006 | 05/11/2009 |
Mr David Ian Glynn | Director | Director | 26/10/2006 | 31/10/2009 |
Mr Gary Hockey Morley | Director | Director | 26/10/2006 | 31/10/2009 |
Ms Deborah Lois Moore | Director | Director | 12/06/2007 | 31/10/2009 |
Mr Michael Thomas Young | Director | Director | 01/08/2008 | 31/10/2009 |
Mr Donald Hood Brydon | Director | Director | 01/05/2009 | 22/09/2011 |
Mr Michael John Moores | Director | Director | 01/07/2009 | 10/06/2011 |
Mr David John Smith | Director | Director | 06/04/2010 | 13/06/2011 |
Moya Marguerite Greene | Director | Director | 18/10/2010 | 17/12/2010 |
Mr Arthur Leslie Owen | Director | Director | 18/10/2010 | 15/03/2012 |
Ms Paula Anne Vennells | Director | Director | 18/10/2010 | 30/04/2019 |
Mr Matthew Lester | Director | Director | 17/12/2010 | 01/11/2011 |
Ms Alice Elizabeth Perkins | Director | Director | 21/07/2011 | 31/07/2015 |
Mr Christopher Mark Day | Director | Director | 22/09/2011 | 28/01/2015 |
Mr Neil McCausland | Director | Director | 22/09/2011 | 30/09/2015 |
Ms Virginia Anne Holmes | Director | Director | 04/04/2012 | 27/03/2018 |
Ms Susannah Jemima Storey | Director | Civil Servant | 18/04/2012 | 26/03/2014 |
Mr Alasdair Marnoch | Director | Director | 23/05/2012 | 31/07/2015 |
Mr Timothy Franklin | Director | Director | 19/09/2012 | 31/12/2019 |
Mr Richard John Callard | Director | Director | 26/03/2014 | 27/03/2018 |
Mr Alisdair Charles John Cameron | Director | Chief Financial Officer | 28/01/2015 | NA |
Mr Timothy Charles Parker | Director | Chairman | 01/10/2015 | 30/09/2022 |
Mr Kenneth Stanely McCall | Director | Director | 21/01/2016 | 26/01/2022 |
Ms Carla Rosaline Stent | Director | Director | 21/01/2016 | 17/02/2023 |
Mr Thomas Knut Glenn Cooper | Director | Non Executive Director | 27/03/2018 | 11/05/2023 |
Ms Shirine Khoury-Haq | Director | Director | 24/05/2018 | 18/07/2019 |
Mr Nicholas James Read | Director | Chief Executive Officer | 16/09/2019 | NA |
Zarin Homi Patel | Director | Non Executive Director | 26/11/2019 | 13/03/2023 |
Ms Lisa Harrington | Director | Director | 08/04/2020 | 01/06/2023 |
Mr Sarfaraz Gulam Ismail | Director | Director | 03/06/2021 | NA |
Mr Elliot Marc Jacobs | Director | Director | 03/06/2021 | NA |
Mr Brian Gaunt | Director | Director | 25/01/2022 | NA |
Mr Henry Eric Staunton | Director | Chairman | 01/12/2022 | 27/01/2024 |
Mr Simon Jeffreys | Director | Non Executive Director | 23/03/2023 | NA |
Ms Amanda Jane Burton | Director | Director | 27/04/2023 | NA |
Ms Lorna Rachel Gratton | Director | Director | 12/05/2023 | NA |
Mr Andrew Atta Darfoor | Director | Director | 20/06/2023 | NA |
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what conflict of interest risk assessment was made regarding the appointment of Simon Jeffreys as a board member of the Crown Prosecution Service and a non-executive director of the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When appointments are made, conflicts are routinely addressed as part of the appointments process. The Companies Act sets out that a director must avoid situations where they have conflicts which conflict with the interests of the company and they must disclose conflicts of interest. As per the Companies Act requirements, any conflicts are disclosed in the company's Annual Report and Accounts, as is the mechanism for managing any conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what risk assessment was made regarding the appointment of Henry Staunton as chairman of the Post Office on 2 September 2022; and what plans they have to publish that assessment.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When appointments are made, conflicts are routinely addressed as part of the appointments process. The Companies Act sets out that a director must avoid situations where they have conflicts which conflict with the interests of the company and they must disclose conflicts of interest. As per the Companies Act requirements, any conflicts are disclosed in the company's Annual Report and Accounts, as is the mechanism for managing any conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many postmasters or other staff members working at Post Office branches located within WH Smith have been prosecuted for alleged shortfalls arising from issues with the Horizon IT system; and how many of these prosecutions were reviewed while Henry Staunton was chairman of the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not have the data related to WH Smith. In terms of reviewing prosecutions, after the landmark Court of Appeal judgment in April 2021, Post Office commissioned criminal lawyers to review all convictions which it had prosecuted which may have relied on Horizon data. Where Post Office has sufficient evidence that the conviction relied on Horizon data, it will contact that individual to let them know it would concede their appeal on the basis of evidence it holds, further to contact it has already made to convicted individuals. Furthermore, the Government is proceeding at pace with its commitments to legislate for the overturning of Post Office related convictions as per the Prime Minister's announcement of January 10th.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to replace any directors of the Post Office in post during the period when sub-postmasters were being prosecuted as the result of deficiencies in the Horizon software, so that none of those directors is involved in the administration of any compensation scheme.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office has not undertaken any private prosecutions related to Horizon since 2015. All Non-Executive Directors of Post Office joined from 2021 onwards and no current Board member was in place before 2015.
The Government has set up a statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal. Collective and individual accountability for the scandal can only be considered when the Inquiry has reviewed all of the evidence.
The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board is an independent advisory board of parliamentarians and academics which oversees compensation related to the Post Office Horizon scandal, ensuring that the compensation schemes achieve fair outcomes for postmasters.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have, at any point since 1999, asked the National Audit Office to review the operation of the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are not aware of any evidence that the National Audit Office (NAO) has been asked to review the operation of the Horizon system; the Horizon contract was always managed directly by Post Office, which does not come under NAO’s remit.
However the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry will look at the actions successive Governments have taken regarding oversight of the Horizon IT system.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to nullify all non-disclosure agreements the Post Office has in place with sub-postmasters who experienced shortfalls due to the defective Horizon system which were made at the time when the Post Office and its lawyers were defending that system.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Post Office CEO, Nick Read, confirmed to the Business and Trade Select Committee on 16 January, that Post Office would not block any Non-Disclosure Agreements being broken for postmasters. Minister Hollinrake, the Postal Services Minister, has since followed up with the Post Office to discuss what, if any, further action needs to be taken. My Department does not include any confidentiality provisions in the offers it issues to postmasters participating in the Group Litigation Order Compensation Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps were taken when the shortfalls arising from flaws in the Horizon software system were reported at Post Offices controlled by the Crown.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Horizon Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, aims to review all the evidence to establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon. A number of the issues which the Inquiry is considering relate explicitly to the actions of Post Office.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of conflict of interest of Tim Parker holding the position of chairman of the Post Office, when it sought to block appeals by convicted postmasters, while also holding the position of Chair of HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When appointments are made, conflicts are routinely addressed as part of the appointments process. The Companies Act sets out that a director must avoid situations where they have conflicts which conflict with the interests of the company, and they must disclose conflicts of interest.
The Department is not however aware of any specific assessment made with regard to Tim Parker’s role as Chair of HMCTS and Post Office Ltd decisions in response to postmaster appeals.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many postmasters or staff at Crown-controlled Post Offices have been prosecuted for shortfalls arising from flaws in the Horizon software system and how much money was recovered from them.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold information on the number of prosecutions broken down by type of Post Office. Postmasters who repaid shortfalls, which arose as a result of the Horizon software, to the Post Office, can claim compensation for these amounts, as well as any other financial and personal damage which they have suffered as a consequence of the IT system.
The full 2,417 postmasters who claimed through the original Horizon Shortfall Scheme have now all had offers of compensation. Offers have totalled over £107m and over £93 million has been paid out in this scheme, with Post Office now dealing with late applications and with those cases where the initial offer was not accepted.