Kemi Badenoch has accused the postmaster general she sacked of a “blatant attempt at revenge” after he made explosive claims about the government’s handling of the Horizon scandal.
The business secretary launched a wide-ranging attack on Henry Stanton in the Commons on Monday, claiming he was being investigated for bullying when she sacked him.
The extraordinary war of words began over the weekend after Mr Stanton gave an interview to the Sunday Times, accusing the government of wanting to delay compensation payments to Horizon victims until after the general election.
Mr. Badenoch removed Mr. Stanton from his position last month. Stanton said in an interview that Badenoch told him when he fired him:
He also claimed that shortly after taking up his post in December 2022, he was instructed by senior civil servants to delay payment of his fees so the Conservative Party could “drag its feet” into the general election.
Mr Badenoch accused Mr Stanton of a series of “completely false” accusations, telling MPs there was “absolutely no evidence” that Mr Stanton had been instructed to delay payments and that such a practice was ” It’s crazy.”
“There is absolutely no evidence that this is true,” she said. “There is absolutely no evidence that any official said anything like this. In fact, if it was said, Mr. Stanton himself would be the one to give evidence. Refuting the naysayers. It’s very difficult to do that. People who make baseless rants and demand proof that it didn’t happen are, in my opinion, mischievous.”
She further added, “There is no benefit to us in delaying compensation. There is absolutely no material impact on our bottom line from this. It would be insane to even suggest that, and the compensation plan Mr. Stanton oversaw. It is my understanding that it has actually been completed and payment has been made 100%, so clearly no instructions have been given.”
She added: “I hope most people reading yesterday’s Sunday Times interview will see it for what it is: a blatant attempt to take revenge after being fired.” ” he added.
Badenoch also told the House that Stanton was being investigated for bullying when he was fired and that “concerns were raised in her department” that Stanton was refusing to cooperate. .
She said: “I removed him because I had serious concerns about his conduct as chair, including issues raised by other directors on the board. The House of Commons should be informed that a formal investigation has been launched into allegations regarding “Stanton’s conduct.” This included serious issues such as bullying. Concerns were expressed to my department regarding Mr. Stanton’s willingness to cooperate with the investigation. ”
Shadow enterprise secretary Jonathan Reynolds has called for a full Cabinet Office investigation, saying ministers will ensure that claims the government was trying to delay Horizon compensation payments are “certainly shown to be false”. He said it must be done.
He said: “But we now have two completely contrasting accounts, one from the Postmaster General and the other from the Secretary of State, and we cannot accept any of these accounts. Only one can be true.”
