Ex-postal affairs minister apologises for government being ‘armed with lawyers’

A former postal affairs minister has apologised for allowing the government to “arm themselves with lawyers” while attempting to sort out redress for victims of the Horizon scandal.

Kevin Hollinrake, who was in post between October 2022 and July 2024 under the previous Conservative government, said it was “one of the mistakes I made” when quizzed by the chairman of the Horizon IT inquiry.

The MP for Thirsk and Malton told the probe on Wednesday: “I hold my hands up and say sorry to people whose claims have not been settled quickly enough through that process.

“It’s something I got wrong – I’m sorry that’s the case.”

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is responsible for sorting redress for claimants from the 555 subpostmasters, led by Sir Alan Bates, who took the Post Office to the High Court between 2017 and 2019 – also known as the GLO scheme.

During Mr Hollinrake’s evidence, inquiry chairman Sir Wyn Williams said: “It was both the Post Office’s choice and the department’s choice to arm themselves with lawyers.

“They didn’t have to have a room full of lawyers to argue this out. That was, if I can use the word, your choice. Yours collectively, you understand – so why?”

Mr Hollinrake, who is now the shadow levelling up, housing and communities secretary, responded: “As I say, I don’t think we should do that in the future. I think we should have some independence in the middle of it.”

Sir Wyn interjected: “I appreciate about the future, but – and I’m absolutely not saying this in a critical sense, it’s an inquiring sense – you obviously had considerable scepticism about how quickly lawyers could sort this out.

“So you became the relevant minister in 2022 – admittedly the HSS (redress scheme) is well down the road, but the overturned conviction scheme wasn’t well down the road, and the GLO scheme had hardly begun, right?

“So why not then say, ‘right, we’ll have a completely different attitude in the Post Office and the department. We won’t arm our defence with lawyers, we’ll have reasonable, whoever, who just look at these claims and make fair assessment’?

Mr Hollinrake said: “Yeah, and if I had my time again, that’s exactly what I’d have done – it’s one of the mistakes I made.

“It was very early on in my time as minister that the GLO scheme came down the track – it was only two or three months after I think.

“Looking back now, I don’t think I should have been happy with that.”

He added: “I hold my hands up and say sorry to people whose claims have not been settled quickly enough through that process.

“It’s something I got wrong – I’m sorry that’s the case.”

In his witness statement to the probe, Mr Hollinrake also criticised the outgoing Post Office boss, Nick Read, saying he “was being paid lots whilst not doing a very good job”.

He said: “As time went on, I formed the view that Nick Read was unable to lead the organisation as it needed to be led.

“A particular example of this is his inability or unwillingness to reduce central costs.

“I repeatedly asked for basic information about management headcount in various salary bands, and a plan to reduce the Post Office’s central office senior management headcount and cost – as I think there were 200 people earning over £100,000 per year – and allow more revenue to flow to subpostmasters.

“It was like drawing teeth.

“I was extremely frustrated by the Post Office’s inability to provide this basic information.”

The statement continued: “I thought it right to give him a decent chance to see through the reform of the Post Office’s culture.

“But my view was that the guy was being paid lots whilst not doing a very good job.

“On the other hand, subpostmasters – the bread and butter of the Post Office – were struggling to break even at best.

“I did not think it was right to give him a big increase.”

More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.

Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.