Post Office: Ex-Camelot boss Nigel Railton named as chairman

The former boss of Camelot has been confirmed as interim chairman of the Post Office after its last leader was sacked.

Nigel Railton has been appointed by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch after Henry Staunton departed in January.

He takes on the role as hundreds of sub-postmasters are still waiting for compensation over the Horizon scandal.

Mr Railton spent 24 years at former National Lottery operator Camelot UK before stepping down last year.

He also worked for car manufacturer Daewoo and the former British Rail.

Mr Railton has agreed to a 12-month stint as Post Office chairman, the BBC understands.

Ms Badenoch said she wanted to thank Mr Railton for "stepping up to public service at a time of need".

"I know he can help fix the issues of the past whilst transforming the company for the future," she added.

'Challenging time'

The Department for Business and Trade appointing Mr Railton signals a new beginning in its relationship with the troubled Post Office, which is owned by the government.

The organisation is currently the subject of a long-running inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, where hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software made it appear money was missing from their accounts.

• Why were hundreds of Post Office workers wrongly prosecuted?

In a statement following his appointment, Mr Railton said: "This is an incredibly challenging time for the Post Office as it works to address historic failures while also striving to transform its business."

Mr Railton left the former National Lottery operator during a shake-up around the time Allwyn Entertainment acquired Camelot UK.

Camelot had run the lottery since the game's launch in 1994, but it faced tough competition and its licence ended in February, with a new one for 10 years being given to Allwyn instead.

The new Post Office chairman also chairs Argentex Group, a London-listed provider of currency management services, and is a trustee of the Social Mobility Foundation, according to his profile on the social platform LinkedIn.

Former chairman Henry Staunton was sacked by Ms Badenoch in January after little more than a year in the role - leading to a bitter public row between the two.

After his exit, Mr Staunton claimed in an interview with the Sunday Times that he had been advised by a civil servant to stall compensation payments to allow the government to "limp into the election" without the impact of a large pay-out.

The government strongly denied the allegation and Ms Badenoch claimed Mr Staunton was under a "formal investigation" for "serious matters such as bullying".

Mr Staunton refuted this. He then disclosed in February that it was actually current chief executive Nick Read who was under investigation after a Speak Up complaint was made against him.

The Post Office confirmed at the time there were complaints against Mr Read and other staff, however he has since been cleared of all misconduct allegations following an investigation carried out by an external barrister.

The row has been criticised by former sub-postmasters, including campaigner Alan Bates, who described it as a "sideshow" to the inquiry.