The former Post Office (PO) chair Henry Staunton has revealed a note which he claims proves he was told by the government to delay payouts to Horizon victims.

His memo records a top civil servant saying “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues” and they should “hobble” up to the election.

Staunton was fired last month.

The claims were first revealed in The Sunday Times on 18 February.

The government has defended the civil servant, stating that she was referring to the state of the Post Office finances, not payouts for postmasters.

In separate comments to Sky News, Staunton said: “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.”

Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch, who sacked Staunton last month, alleged that the claims were “completely false” and “made-up anecdotes”.

She added: “The government made clear to the chair of the Post Office that reaching payment settlements with victims of the Horizon scandal was a priority when he took the role. Claims to the contrary are simply not true.”

Badenoch posted a copy of a letter congratulating Staunton on his then appointment as PO chair. It stated a focus of the role would be “reaching settlements with claimants” of the Horizon scandal.

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