Emma Simpson
Business correspondent

Before winding up his questions, Jason Beer KC got onto the topic of outgoing Post Office chief executive Nick Read’s pay.

We’ve heard a lot from a series of witnesses about his desire for more money.

“Did your repeated grievances and complaints about remuneration become too significant a feature with your tenure and interfere with your ability to carry out your role?” he was asked.

No, he replied.

He admitted to being very frustrated at times but denied ever threatening to resign.

Sam Stein KC, acting for sub-postmasters, wanted to know where all the money taken from sub-postmasters ended up.

Read said they had external forensic accountants trying to find out: £36m had so far been identified between 1999-2015, after assessing claims from the two main Post Office schemes.

"It’s our best endeavour in terms of where we’ve got to," he said.

Stein said the figure was now growing because it was clear many sub-postmasters were still paying for current shortfalls out of their own money.

Read repeatedly stressed that the Post Office wasn’t forcing to people into making good any losses they didn’t agree with, but acknowledged that message wasn’t getting through.

Emma Simpson
Business correspondent

It’s the final day of evidence from outgoing Post Office chief executive Nick Read.

He had an uncomfortable final hour yesterday answering questions from Edward Henry KC, who described himself as representing a small cohort of broken people yearning for justice.

Henry focused on compensation, running through a host of problems resulting in delay and inadequate payments, a process that was “designed to be difficult”.

The inquiry was shown an internal Post Office email which revealed that executives discussed limiting the number of applications to the main scheme by having “very tight eligibility criteria” including requirements for contemporaneous documents, which Henry said sub-postmasters would have great difficulty complying with.

Read agreed it wasn’t good enough and expressed his deep regret that it was all taking so long. But he didn’t think the government was quibbling with the bill.

Today’s proceedings will start with more questions from counsel to the inquiry, Jason Beer KC.

You can watch Read's evidence in the stream above - we won't be bringing you regular text updates on this page.

Peter Ruddick
Business reporter

Has the Post Office sufficiently changed in the past five years?

There were lots of topics covered again today. Many questions. Countless documents. But one key theme.

We began with the new sub-postmaster contract. It still includes reference to investigations and interviews under caution.

Is that really appropriate? Nick Read admitted it was not but assured the inquiry his investigators had changed, even if the contract hadn't been updated properly.

Is it right that some people working for the Post Office at the height of the scandal are still there? Read said they had "struggled" to "move people on", despite apparent government encouragement.

Finally, redress and compensation. Was the Post Office dragging its heels because of "historic, dyed in the wool prejudice"? Again, Read said no. When faced with emotional examples, he said he regretted how long it was all taking.

But, a document from the setting up of the very first scheme did appear to suggest hurdles were put in place.

Still no discussion of Read's own pay. Tomorrow might not be any easier for the outgoing boss.

Emma Simpson
Business correspondent

How could some Post Office investigators involved in the wrongful pursuit of sub-postmasters have ended up in the remediation unit tasked with compensating the victims?

Nick Read said he was surprised to hear this and in December 2022 launched a review of 700 staff looking at who was doing what and when in the past.

But the work is still far from finished.

The inquiry heard how former Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake urged Read to take a robust approach to remove former investigators from the company’s payroll and that he wasn’t a big fan of simply paying people off.

“I don’t mind if we end up in a tribunal,” he was noted as saying.

Was that the approach taken, asked Jason Beer KC? “No, I don’t think it was as robust as that... we have struggled to move people on” admitted Read.

But he was confident no-one from that era remained in investigations or auditing today.

Yesterday we heard that the Post Office is investigating three people named by victims during the human impact hearings.

Emma Simpson
Business correspondent

Image source, PA Media

It's day two for Nick Read, the outgoing CEO of the Post Office.

Yesterday we learnt how unprepared he was for the "scale and enormity" of the job when he took over.

He said the job spec didn't mention dealing with the fall out of the landmark high court litigation.

He's had a bruising five years, in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, including his salary and bonuses. We've already heard claims that he had an obsession with his pay.

The Chair of the Post Office's remuneration committee said she was surprised how often he asked about it.

He'll likely face questions about that today along with his own style of management.

And former Chair, Henry Staunton, has arrived to hear what his former chief executive has to say.

You can watch Read's evidence in the stream above - we won't be bringing you regular text updates on this page.

Peter Ruddick
Business reporter

The outgoing Post Office chief executive has made it through the first of three days of evidence.

What have we learned from Nick Read?

Firstly: how unprepared he was for the scale of the turnaround task, how "in denial" the existing leadership was about the scale of the scandal when he arrived.

Secondly: how much more the Post Office has to do in order to convince sub-postmasters it has changed. Read said it was "disappointing" some were still experiencing discrepancies in their branches.

Thirdly: it isn't just sub-postmasters that need convincing. Relations with Fujitsu, the suppliers of the Horizon system, are very strained. Read described a recent letter from the European chief executive as "incendiary".

We still haven't made it onto the topics of Nick Read's pay and management style. Lots more to come tomorrow and Friday.

• You can read a full write up of what the inquiry heard today here

Peter Ruddick
Business reporter

The Post Office inquiry has broken for lunch after a quiet, but important, morning.

It began with an announcement reminding us of the human impact of what is being discussed - that another former sub-postmaster, Gillian Blakey, has died without receiving the redress she's owed.

Then, the evidence began.

When Nick Read joined the Post Office it had stopped prosecuting sub-postmasters. But it was still fighting them.

You might imagine the scandal would be a key part of the chief executive job description. However, Read said it was not mentioned.

Even after his appointment, Read says he was told not to "dig into" the past and that there was not a "huge PR risk". He agreed the leadership was in "dream world".

He admitted his employees may have thought some convictions were overturned incorrectly. However, he said the culture at the Post Office was changing.

Read faces two-and-a-half more days of questions.

The big questions Read will need to answerpublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 9 October

10:08 BST 9 October

Peter Ruddick
Business reporter

The Post Office inquiry has been brought bang up to date.

Dealing with the here and now: The attitude towards sub-postmasters, redress for victims and attempts to replace the Horizon IT system.

Current - but outgoing - chief executive Nick Read might have hoped his appearance would be a chance to triumph his efforts in these areas. Instead, he's likely to be on the defensive.

Why? Firstly, his pay. Various executives claimed he was "obsessed" with increasing his salary.

Then there is his management style. Read has been accused - and cleared - of bullying. Criticism hasn't gone away though. The Post Office's former finance chief told the inquiry his ex-boss preferred working with "younger, deferential, male colleagues".

Finally, has the Post Office really changed? It's been suggested Read refers to current employees implicated by the scandal as "untouchables". Or that sub-postmasters are still viewed negatively.

Lots for Read to answer.

Image source, PA Media

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Post Office inquiry, where the current chief executive Nick Read is beginning three days of evidence.

Read will be stepping down from his role, which he's held since 2019 after taking over from Paula Vennells, in March.

He had already stepped back from frontline duties when the announcement was made last September, saying he wanted to give his "entire attention" to the final stage of the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

His time at the company has been dominated by the fallout of the scandal, in which hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted based on faulty accounting software which made it look as though money was missing from branches.

Although we won't be bringing you regular text updates on this page, you'll be able to follow the inquiry here by clicking the Watch Live button above throughout the day.