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10" May 2023
Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP
Secretary of State
Department of Business and Trade
Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place
LONDON
SW1A 2DY
Dear Secretary of State
Clarification to Post Office Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22
I write to apologise to you on behalf of Post Office for the error made in including an inappropriate
metric as part of the Transformation Incentive scheme in 2021/22 in relation to the Post Office's
performance in discharging what were, and continue to be, its clear obligations to the Horizon IT
Inquiry. That error was compounded by Post Office's mistake in declaring that this element had
been achieved successfully.
As detailed in the Company's statement from Lisa Harrington yesterday, an investigation into the
circumstances which resulted in these mistakes is underway. That investigation is being led by
Amanda Burton, a Non-Executive Director who joined the Board just two weeks ago, on 27 April
2023. Amanda also takes over as Chair of our Remuneration Committee (Remco) from Lisa
Harrington as part of planned succession arrangements for Remco. We would welcome the
involvement of an independent third party to assure the robustness and integrity of the
investigation and its recommendations and invite your suggestions in this regard.
You will be aware that, as Chief Executive, I have volunteered to return the portion of the bonus
which is attributable to all of the business’ work described as relating to the Inquiry and not only to
the specific element of the metric at issue. The position of other recipients of relevant payments
will be addressed as part of Amanda Burton’s work.
Finally, it is our intention to appoint an independent expert to undertake a detailed review of the
Post Office’s governance framework.. In the light of the remuneration issues, we intend to request
a specific focus on the governance arrangements for Remco and to ask that this part of the
expert's report be prioritised. I hope that this will could be helpful in providing another avenue for
recommendations and assurance that could simplify our current governance arrangements.
These have, in recent years, become unsustainably cumbersome and do little to promote clarity
in decision-making processes. We would welcome a commitment by the Government to review
our governance and the reports by the independent expert may be helpful to you
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No.
2154540. Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London .
EC2Y 9AQ. postoffice.co.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trademarks of Post Office Limited.
rT fT uk
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The errors for which I have apologised are a source of deep regret both for me personally and for
the Company as a whole. We will continue to work hard as a business to support every aspect of
the Inquiry’s work and to offer those affected full and fair compensation as quickly as possible.
The transformation of Post Office, its culture and its operations, is vital to the success of today’s
Postmasters and the customers and communities they serve. The provision of these essential
services should not be jeopardised by the rightful fulfilment of our duties to the Inquiry and the
Postmasters affected.
I am copying this letter to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Kevin Hollinrake MP
Yours sincerely
Chief Executive, Post Office Limited
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No.
2154540. Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London
EC2Y 9AQ. postoffice.co.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trademarks of Post Office Limited
" 8 uk