The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Post Office has announced his decision to return his entire bonus payment associated with his involvement in the Horizon inquiry,
which investigated the wrongful convictions of numerous postmasters.
Nick Read expressed regret for "procedural and governance errors" that occurred within the company between 2000 and 2014.
Approximately 700 Post Office employees were unjustly convicted, with some even imprisoned, due to the flawed Horizon software, which led to allegations of theft and false accounting.
In the previous year, Mr. Read received a total bonus of £455,000, a portion of which was linked to his contribution to the Horizon inquiry, amounting to £54,400.
Initially, he agreed to reimburse £13,600 of that amount in May, but he has now committed to returning the remaining £40,800.
It remains uncertain whether other individuals who received bonuses related to the inquiry will also return their payments.
The chairman of the Horizon inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, criticized the Post Office for awarding the bonus before the inquiry's conclusion.
The Horizon inquiry is examining how numerous sub-postmasters suffered grave miscarriages of justice, with a projected completion date in 2024.
Numerous sub-postmasters faced wrongful fraud accusations, leading to significant financial and reputational damage. Some were even wrongfully imprisoned.
Harjinder Butoy, a former postmaster, was convicted based on the flawed Horizon accounting system, which inaccurately indicated that funds had been stolen. Despite being wrongly incarcerated for stealing £280,000, he has not yet received compensation.
In a statement, Mr. Read reaffirmed the Post Office's sincere apology for the "procedural and governance errors."
Darren Jones, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, welcomed Mr. Read's decision to return the bonus payments in full. However, he emphasized that the Post Office should not have used bonus incentives for executives involved in the statutory inquiry, as this responsibility is already part of their role.
Jones called for all senior executives to return 100% of their bonus payments and to apologize for the existence of the morally questionable bonus scheme.
Numerous convictions of affected postmasters have since been overturned by the courts.
Mr. Read concluded by expressing hope that this action would allow the Post Office to prioritize rectifying past wrongs and supporting current postmasters. Photo by Andrew Loughran, Wikimedia commons.