Kemi Badenoch hits back at former Post Office boss in Horizon compensation row

Published

2 months ago

February 19, 2024

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Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has hit out at the former Post Office chairman after he alleged he was told to “stall” spending on compensation for Horizon scandal victims ahead of the next general election.

Henry Staunton, who was ousted by the business secretary last month, used an interview with The Sunday Times to suggest that the alleged request from a senior Whitehall civil servant was linked to concerns about the cost of the payouts.

He also told the paper that Ms Badenoch told him that “someone’s got to take the rap” for the Horizon scandal and that he discovered his sacking following a phone call from Sky News.

The claims prompted an immediate and strongly worded denial from the government, with Ms Badenoch also using social media to accuse the former chairman of “disgraceful misrepresentation” of the reasons he was ousted.

Mr Staunton, who took up the role in December 2022 following nine years as chairman of WH Smith, claimed he was told “by a fairly senior person to stall on spend on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon” and to “limp into the election”.

He added: “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.”

Ms Badenoch, in a lengthy post on X, said the comments were a “disgraceful misrepresentation of my conversation with him and the reasons for his dismissal”.

She added: “Henry Staunton had a lack of grip getting justice for postmasters. The serious concerns over his conduct were the reasons I asked him to step down.

“That he chose to run to the media with made up anecdotes and a series of falsehoods, confirms I made the correct decision.”

She said her call with Mr Staunton “was with officials” who took a “complete record”.

“He has given an interview full of lies about our conversation during his dismissal.”

“The details will emerge soon enough as I won’t let the matter rest here, but will be discussing with [government] lawyers,” she said.

Ms Badenoch is expected to make a Commons statement about the matter on Monday.

The Post Office scandal has been pushed into the public eye following the airing of ITV drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

The series documented the long legal fight by hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who were wrongfully blamed for financial discrepancies caused by the Horizon IT system between 1999 and 2015.

Many were financially ruined, some were jailed and others committed suicide after the errors made it seem like money was missing from their shops.

The government has announced plans to exonerate those whose convictions have still not been overturned and set aside £1bn for compensation.

But many campaigners, including Alan Bates who the ITV drama was centred on, have complained about unnecessary delays to victims in receiving the money.

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “The Horizon scandal is widely accepted to be one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

“Under no circumstances should compensation to victims be delayed and to do so for party political purposes would be a further insult to sub-postmasters.

“The Labour Party has called for all sub-postmasters to be exonerated and compensation paid swiftly so that victims can begin to draw this awful chapter to a close.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the claims were “deeply disturbing”.

He said that “ministers must come to parliament and explain exactly what has happened at the earliest opportunity”.

Ms Badenoch’s denial came after Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson told broadcasters he didn’t “accept or recognise” Mr Staunton’s claims.

Speaking on Sunday morning, he initially told Sky News he hadn’t read the story so he couldn’t comment.

But later he told Times Radio: “I don’t accept or recognise that.

“We are encouraging postmasters to come forward. We have brought legislation through the House of Commons which will enable those payments to be made, and that is something that we are encouraging rather than anything.”

A government spokesperson said: “We utterly refute these allegations.

“The government has sped up compensation to victims and consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims.

“To suggest any actions or conversations happened to the contrary is incorrect. In fact, upon appointment, Mr Staunton was set concrete objectives, in writing, to focus on reaching settlements with claimants – clear evidence of the government’s intent.

“The secretary of state asked Henry Staunton to step down as chairman of the Post Office because a change in leadership was needed.”

Business

Fed holds US interest rates again after three months of disappointing inflation data

Published

9 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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Fed holds US interest rates again after three months of disappointing inflation data

The US central bank, known as the Fed, has again kept interest rates high – at 5.25% to 5.5%.

It comes despite the policymaker signaling in January that interest rate cuts were around the corner.

Progress in bringing down rates and making borrowing cheaper has been hampered by rising inflation in the US.

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It could now be that US rates are only cut once in 2024, less than had been expected, as high rates are deemed necessary to take money out of the economy and slow the pace of price rises.

Data released last week showed inflation grew 3.5% in March, up from 3.2% in February and 3.1% in January – above the Fed’s inflation target and higher than economists expected.

Inflation falls are not guaranteed Mr Powell said on Wednesday, “Further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path forward is uncertain”.

More confidence that inflation is under control will be needed before policymakers move to cut due to recent inflation figures.

Gaining that confidence will take “longer than previously expected”, he added.

In addition to the typical statement from the Fed in recent months it highlighted this concern: “In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2% objective.”

It signals that interest rates will remain higher for longer but another hike was said to be “unlikely” by Mr Powell.

“The committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range [of interest rates] until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%,” the Fed said.

The Fed chair would not be drawn on if, and possibly when, rates would be cut this year. “There are paths to cutting, there are paths to not cutting”, he told reporters.

Central banks in the UK, US, and EU are all aiming to bring inflation down to 2%.

The Bank of England faces a similar decision next week when it will announce its own interest rate decision.

Markets had been expecting a cut in May, but are now not expecting one until August, according to data from Refinitv.

Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range rather than a single percentage – the Fed does not set a specific figure. Instead, the numbers are a target rate to guide lenders.

Business

Shellfish industry on a ‘knife edge’ as sewage dumped in designated waters for 192,000 hours last year

Published

21 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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Shellfish industry on a 'knife edge' as sewage dumped in designated waters for 192,000 hours last year

Untreated sewage was released into designated shellfish waters for 192,000 hours last year, new research has found.

The dirty water pouring into English seas was a 20% jump from 159,000 hours in 2022, according to the analysis of Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats, shared with Sky News.

The hours of sewage dumping were spread across 23,000 separate incidents – a slight fall from the previous year, but still an average of 64 times a day.

Some fishing waters in Cornwall were forced to close last year after high levels of e.coli were found in oysters and mussels, and norovirus can also be transported via human waste.

While the fishing industry can usually clean its catch before it reaches the plate, it has branded the situation a “stitch-up” because it foots the bill for the process.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: “This environmental scandal is putting wildlife at risk of unimaginable levels of pollution.

“The food we eat, and the British fisheries industry, must be protected from raw sewage.”

The Lib Dems are calling for an investigation into shellfish water quality – which should be protected from deterioration under the Water Framework Directive – and a government clampdown on polluting companies.

“It is getting worse on their watch and there will be real concerns for the fishing industry if this trend continues,” added Mr Farron, whose party is targeting many rural seats in the upcoming general election.

The worst offender was South West Water, responsible for 13,000 sewage discharges, totalling 98,000 hours, followed by Southern Water, which released sewage 7,000 times for 73,000 hours.

Southern Water pointed to the fact 2023 fell in the wettest 18-month period on record, while South West Water said it has a high proportion of shellfish waters across its vast West Country coastline.

Just 9% of shellfish waters in England reach the top “class A” status – clean enough that shellfish harvested from them can be sold without being purified first.

Anything caught from lower quality waters must be cleaned first in depuration tanks, where the molluscs purge themselves with sterile water, or cannot be sold at all.

Fishing industry on a ‘knife edge’

Martin Laity, of Sailors Creek Shellfish, has been catching native oysters from the waters of Cornwall for 34 years.

He tracks alerts on the latest sewage discharges, so he can avoid fishing in those waters, and sometimes soaks the oysters in purification tanks for days longer than mandated just to be safe.

He calls the situation a “stitch-up” because it pushes up producers’ electricity and labour costs, and reduces the value of their catch, for which they receive no compensation.

Joe Redfern from the Shellfish Association Of Great Britain said producers “live on a knife edge”.

“Just one bad result can shut down their business overnight, leading to huge impacts to their business. It is a desperate situation and one that seems to be getting worse, with some businesses shutting for good,” he said.

It wants compensation for producers from the fines the government imposed on water companies for excessive sewage releases.

A spokesperson for industry body Water UK said: “Water companies understand and sympathise with the issues these businesses and coastal communities are facing, which is why we are proposing to spend £11bn to reduce spills as quickly as possible, halving spills into shellfish water by 2030.”

An environment department (Defra) spokesperson said: “We’re already taking action to clean up shellfish sites by driving the water industry to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in history – £60bn over 25 years – to cut spills by hundreds of thousands each year.

“Shellfish sites will be prioritised alongside bathing waters and sites of ecological importance.”

Defra is also increasing inspections and regulator funding, and considering banning some water company bonuses, they added.

South West Water said its plans will ensure all shellfish sites in its area meet the government’s target of less than 10 spills per year by 2030, and Southern Water said shellfish can also be infected by farming, run off from roads, boats, marine life and pesticides.

Business

Wait for interest rate cut leads to surprise dip in house price growth

Published

21 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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Wait for interest rate cut leads to surprise dip in house price growth

Shifting expectations for UK interest rate cuts have contributed to a dip in house price growth, according to a closely watched measure.

Nationwide reported a 0.4% fall in average property costs last month compared with March, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.6% from 1.6%.

Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had expected month-on-month growth of 0.2%.

The lender’s report said the easing reflected “ongoing affordability pressures, with longer term interest rates rising in recent months, reversing the steep fall seen around the turn of the year”.

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The cost of fixed rate mortgage deals has risen due to market expectations that a Bank of England interest rate cut is looking further away than had been anticipated at the start of the year.

According to the latest data from the financial information service Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate is still creeping back up towards the 6% mark last seen since December.

It charted a figure of 5.9% on Monday – up from 5.87% seen last Friday.

The average five-year rate is nearing 5.5%.

The increases reflect rising borrowing costs for lenders themselves.

It is all based on market expectations that a UK interest rate cut will now not take place until August.

Earlier bets had been on May but the Bank has recently signalled no let up in its concerns about the outlook for inflation, with those including the pace of wage growth remaining too high.

Nationwide said wider cost of living pressures continued to weigh on buyers during April, despite the pace of wage growth standing at almost double that for price growth.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Recent research carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Nationwide found that nearly half (49%) of prospective first-time buyers (those looking to buy in the next five years) have delayed their plans over the past year.

“Among this group, the most commonly cited reason for delaying their purchase is that house prices are too high (53%), but it is also notable that 41% said that higher mortgage costs were preventing them from buying.

“Coupled with this, 84% of prospective first-time buyers said that the cost of living has affected their plans to buy, for example through having less money each month to save for a deposit.”