Request for Post Office bosses to return erroneously paid bonuses

Post Office executives have received a plea to return their bonuses for their involvement in an inquiry into the sub-postmaster computer scandal. This scandal is considered one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in recent UK legal history. Darren Jones, the chair of the Commons business and trade committee, made the request on Tuesday.

This call comes after the chair of a public inquiry disputed claims that he had approved the payments. These bonuses were given to the Post Office’s chief executive, chief financial officer, and other senior personnel. The inquiry was established to investigate the Horizon IT scandal, which resulted in false theft prosecutions of numerous postmasters between 2000 and 2013. This caused financial ruin for many victims, with compensation still pending for some.

Jones expressed his dissatisfaction with the executives’ partial repayments of their bonuses, stating that their actions were insufficient. He addressed the Post Office bosses during a House of Commons hearing and urged them to reconsider repaying 100% of the bonuses related to the inquiry. He argued that the repayments made thus far were inadequate.

Jones also criticized the Post Office board for a series of puzzling mistakes that led to the awarding of bonuses for the 2021-2022 financial year. This intervention by the committee adds to the embarrassment faced by the Post Office, which has received repeated criticism for its mistreatment of former postal managers.

Nick Read, the CEO of the Post Office, apologized to MPs for the error in awarding the bonuses and confirmed that he had personally repaid £13,000 of his £455,000 bonus. Out of the 34 senior executives, 30 have made voluntary repayments.

In May, Sir Wyn Williams, the chair of the Horizon IT inquiry, stated that he did not approve a section of bonus payments as indicated in the Post Office’s annual report. He called this claim “misleading and inaccurate.”

Jones expressed serious concerns about the company’s corporate governance, questioning how multiple parties involved in the decision-making process failed to identify the issue. He found it remarkable that the remuneration committee, board, internal audit, risk assurance teams, senior leaders, external advisers, and lawyers all missed this oversight.

However, Read argued on Tuesday that the executives had already repaid the appropriate amount. He also defended the bonus scheme, stating that it was designed to incentivize senior figures to go above and beyond.

In a recent review by non-executive director Amanda Burton, it was concluded that the bonuses became “completely inappropriate” once the Horizon inquiry became statutory in June 2021. Burton informed MPs that there had been a mistake in setting the bonus targets and meeting them. She acknowledged the lack of proper documentation in decision-making but emphasized that remuneration committees often exercise discretion in making payments.

The Post Office issued a statement claiming that Nick Read had already voluntarily repaid the bonus associated with the sub-metric. It was also mentioned that a formal response to the committee chair’s comments would be provided at the end of the evidence session.