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Kemi Badenoch has said former Post Office chair Henry Staunton was being investigated over bullying allegations before his dismissal – as she accused him of seeking “revenge” against the government.

The business secretary told the Commons that allegations regarding Mr Staunton’s conduct, including “serious matters such as bullying”, were being examined and concerns had also been raised about his “willingness to co-operate” with the formal investigation.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Badenoch said: “Mr Staunton claimed that I told him that someone’s got to take the rap for the Horizon scandal and that was the reason for his dismissal,” she said. “That was not the reason at all.

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“I dismissed him because there were serious concerns about his behaviour as chair, including those raised from other directors on the board.

“My department found significant governance issues, for example, with the recruitment of a new senior independence director to the Post Office board.”

But shortly after Ms Badenoch made her statement, a spokesperson for Mr Staunton released a fresh statement hitting back at the “astonishing” claims, saying it was the “first time the existence of such allegations have been mentioned”.

“Mr Staunton is not aware of any aspect of his conduct which could give rise to such allegations,” they added.

“They were certainly not raised by the secretary of state at any stage and certainly not during the conversation which led to Mr Staunton’s dismissal. Such behaviour would in any case be totally out of character.”

The heated exchange came after Mr Staunton, who was dismissed from his post last month, claimed in an interview with The Sunday Times that he was told to delay pay-outs to sub-postmasters ahead of the next general election due to concerns about costs.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Badenoch said the claim was “completely false” and accused Mr Staunton of seeking “revenge” after he was sacked.

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Henry Staunton
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Henry Staunton

‘Pretty obvious to everyone’

Mr Staunton stood by his claims about stalled compensation this evening and earlier told Sky News it “pretty obvious what was really going on” following the government denials.

Mr Staunton said there was “no real movement” on the payouts until after the airing of the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office earlier this year.

He added: “It was in the interests of the business, as well as being fair for the postmasters, that there was faster progress on exoneration and that compensation was more generous, but we didn’t see any real movement until after the Mr Bates programme.

“I think it is pretty obvious to everyone what was really going on.”

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But Ms Badenoch told MPs this afternoon there was “no evidence whatsoever that this is true”.

“For Henry Staunton to suggest otherwise, for whatever personal motives, is a disgrace and it risks damaging confidence in the compensation schemes that ministers and civil servants are working so hard to deliver,” she said.

“I would hope that most people reading the interview in yesterday’s Sunday Times would see it for what it was: a blatant attempt to seek revenge following dismissal.”

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Post Office scandal: New concerns

As the war of words between the pair ramped up, opposition parties demanded the government release all documents relating to Mr Staunton’s sacking to provide clarity on the allegations.

In his interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Staunton claimed that when he was sacked Ms Badenoch had told him “someone’s got to take the rap” for the Post Office scandal – and that he was offered no apology for learning about his dismissal from Sky News.

A readout of a call between the pair, seen by Sky News, shows that Ms Badenoch did apologise, but only for the call being at short notice.

‘Truly shocking’

As well as denying the claims, the business department also published a letter sent to Mr Staunton after his appointment which said one of his priorities should be to resolve historic litigation issues relating to the Horizon software.

However, Labour described the allegations were “truly shocking” and said there were “clear discrepancies” in the accounts of Mr Staunton’s short time as chairman.

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Post Office accused of cover-up

Mr Staunton became chairman of the Post Office in December 2022, but he was ousted last month as the government reeled from the backlash of its handling of the Horizon scandal.

This saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted because of discrepancies in the Horizon IT system between 1999 and 2015, in what has been called the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.

The airing of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office last month led to widespread outrage and promises from the government to introduce a new law to exonerate all victims and speed up the compensation process.

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Appearing opposite Ms Badenoch in the Commons, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the revelations in The Sunday Times “could not be more serious”.

He singled out the claim that the Post Office was “instructed to deliberately go slow on compensation payments” to wrongly convicted sub-postmasters to save the government money ahead of an election.

He added it would be a “further outrageous insult to a scandal that has already rocked faith in the fairness of the British state”, if true.

Mr Staunton claimed he received the direction from a senior figure in Whitehall, but a spokesman for the government said on Sunday it “utterly” rejected the claim and said Mr Staunton was given “concrete objectives” to focus on reaching settlements.

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home as it grapples with the unfolding impact of a cyberattack on Britain’s best-known retailer.

Sky News has learnt that roughly 200 people who had been due to undertake shift work at M&S’s vast Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands have been told not to come in amid the escalating crisis.

Agency staff make up about 20% of Castle Donington’s workforce, according to a source close to M&S.

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The retailer’s own employees who work at the site have been told to come in as usual, the source added.

“There is work for them to do,” they said.

M&S disclosed last week that it was suspending online orders as a result of the cyberattack, but has provided few other details about the nature and extent of the incident.

In its latest update to investors, the company said on Friday that its product range was “available to browse online, and our stores remain open and ready to welcome and serve customers”.

“We continue to manage the incident proactively and the M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,” it added.

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It was unclear on Monday how long the disruption to M&S’s e-commerce operations would last, although retail executives said the cyberattack was “extensive” and that it could take the company some time to fully resolve its impact.

Shares in M&S slid a further 2.4% on Monday morning, following a sharp fall last week, as investors reacted to the absence of positive news about the incident.

M&S declined to comment further.

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

Shares in meal delivery platform Deliveroo have surged by 17% as investors react to news of a £2.7bn takeover proposal.

The company revealed after the market had closed on Friday that it had been in talks since 5 April with US rival DoorDash.

Deliveroo suggested then it was likely the 180p per share offer would be recommended, though full terms were yet to be agreed.

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At that price, the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, would be in line for a windfall of more than £170m.

Deliveroo further announced, before trading on Monday, that it had suspended its £100m share buyback programme.

The opening share price reaction took the value to 171p per share – still shy of the 180p on the table – and well under the 390p per share flotation price seen in 2021.

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Deliveroo’s shares have weakened nearly 50% since their market debut.

The deal is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.

But a takeover would likely represent a blow to the City of London given the anticipated loss of a tech-focused player.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If the deal is done at that price, the company will fail to shake off the ‘Floperoo’ tag it was saddled with after its disastrous IPO debut in 2021.

“Even though Deliveroo has finally broken through into profitable territory, the prolonged bout of indigestion around its share price has continued.

“The surge in demand for home deliveries during the pandemic waned just as competition heated up. Deliveroo’s foray into grocery deliveries has helped it turn a profit but it’s still facing fierce rivals.”

She added: “The DoorDash Deliveroo deal will be unappetising for the government which has been trying to boost the number of tech companies listed in London.

“If Deliveroo is purchased it would join a stream of companies leaving the London Stock Exchange, with too few IPOs [initial public offerings] in the pipeline to make up the numbers.”

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US trade deal ‘possible’ but not ‘certain’, says senior minister

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US trade deal 'possible' but not 'certain', says senior minister

A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.

However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”

He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.

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And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”

As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.

Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.

He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.

He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”

The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.

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On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.

“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.

She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.

“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.

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