Image source, PA

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has hit back at claims made by former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton about the reasons for his departure.

Staunton told the Sunday Times, external that when he was sacked Badenoch had told him: "Someone's got to take the rap." But Badenoch said the comments were a "disgraceful misrepresentation" of their conversation.

Staunton also said he was told to delay payouts to Post Office scandal victims, which the government denies.

Read the background to the row in our explainer by Nick Edser, here.

Image source, ITV

Twenty five years on from the first convictions for theft and fraud, it was a four-part ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, that renewed mass public interest in the scandal like never before.

Watched by nine million viewers so far according to ITV figures, the mini-series centred on the story of sub-postmaster Alan Bates, played by actor Toby Jones, who led and won a legal battle paving the way for dozens of convictions to be overturned.

Since the series began airing on 1 January, more than 100 new potential victims contacted lawyers, some of whom were former sub-postmasters prosecuted by the Post Office.

Westminster has tried to keep pace, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling the case an "appalling miscarriage of justice" in an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg in January.

Read more here.

Image source, UK Parliament

It was just over three weeks ago that Henry Staunton stepped down from his job as the Post Office chairman amid the ongoing tensions around the Horizon IT scandal - the scandal that saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted.

The Post Office then said that Henry Staunton had been asked to leave the post by Kemi Badenoch. She had said the company was "rightfully" under heightened scrutiny as the public outcry over the scandal continues.

"I felt there was a need for new leadership, and we have parted ways with mutual consent," she said.

However, appearing later on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch acknowledged she decided Staunton needed to go after looking into Post Office governance.

Staunton had been in the position at the state-owned company since December 2022.

As part of the role, advertised with a salary of up to £150,000, he had been tasked with leading the board of directors and working to right the wrongs of the Horizon dispute.

Before that, he had worked on the board of companies ranging from ITV to WH Smith.

Henry Staunton says he was told by a senior civil servant to "stall" spending on compensation to sub-postmasters ahead of the next general election.

He also told the Sunday Times, external the alleged request was linked to concerns about the cost of compensation heading into the election - and that Badenoch told him that "someone's got to take the rap" for the Horizon scandal.

He told the newspaper: "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," he added.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted after faulty computer software called Horizon calculated that money was missing from post office branches.

Many of those affected say it ruined their lives.

Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts with the Post Office stated they were responsible for any unexplained loss.

Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods. Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to debilitating health conditions, addiction and even premature death.

The government has promised to quash their convictions and pay compensation.

Some of the former sub-postmasters and mistresses have shared their stories of despair, loss and shame with BBC Breakfast in a powerful and moving interview - you can watch it here.

Nadia Ragozhina
Live reporter

In the next hour we are due to hear from Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, who is going to make a statement to the House of Commons to address some of the claims from the former Post Office chairman, Henry Staunton.

Staunton told the Sunday Times that when he was sacked, Badenoch told him: "Someone's got to take the rap”.

More than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty computer software calculated that money was missing from branches.

We’ll bring you all the updates and analysis as we hear from Badenoch and you’ll be able to watch the statement live by pressing the Play button above.