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Witness Name: Simon John Lewis Jeffreys
Statement No.: WITN11300100
Dated: 9 September 2024
POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WITNESS STATEMENT OF SIMON JOHN LEWIS JEFFREYS
I, Simon Jeffreys, will say as follows:-
Introduction
1. 1am a Non-Executive Director of the Post Office Limited (“POL”) Board. I joined
the Board in March 2023 and am the Chair of the Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee.
2. This witness statement is made to assist the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry (the
“Inquiry”) with the matters set out in the Rule 9 Request dated 8 July 2024 (the
“Request’). The focus of this statement is to assess what changes have been
made within the organisation following;
a The findings of Fraser LJ in the Common issues Judgment of 15 March
2019 and the Horizon Issues Judgment of 16 December 2019, and
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b Resulting from evidence arising out of the Inquiry, which go to the present
relationship between POL and its Sub-Postmasters (‘SPM’s’).
3. I have instructed PCB-Byrne LLP to act on my behalf in relation to the Request.
I have been assisted by Michael Potts and Ilana Baines, who are lawyers at
PCB-Byrne, in responding to the Request.
Professional Background
4. I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Cape Town in 1973.
Following this I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Honours specialising in
accounting from the University of Cape Town in 1974.
5. I went on undertake a Certificate in the Theory of Accountancy at the University
of Cape Town in South Africa in 1975 and I became a Chartered Accountant in
South Africa in 1978.
6. Following this, in 1987, I became a Certified Public Accountant in New York and
in 1995 I became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
and Wales.
7. During my career I have held the following positions:
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a. Between 1975 and 2006 was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and
predecessor firms, this was within the UK, USA and South Africa. My roles
included Senior Audit Partner, leader of the firm’s Investment Management
practice worldwide and the Global Financial Services Leadership Team.
b. Between 2006 and 2008 I was the Chief Financial Officer at Fidelity
International. This was both in London and Bermuda.
¢. Between 2009-2014 I was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating
Officer at the Wellcome Trust. From 2014 until 2016 I became a Senior
Advisor for the Wellcome Trust.
8. In addition to this I have held the following Non-Executive roles:
a. From 2009 to 2014 I was a Non-Executive director for the Wellcome Trust
Investment Companies.
b. Between 2010 and 2015 I was a Non-Executive director for Diamond Light
Source.
c. Between 2011 and 2015 I was the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
for Hilleman Laboratories Limited which is located in India.
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. From 2009 to 2015 I was a Non-Executive director and from time-to-time
Chairman for Genome Research Limited.
. I was the Chair of Audit Committee for Aon UK Limited between 2009 and
2015 and then became the Chairman from 2015 to 2023.
I was the Chair of Audit Committee for Henderson International Income
Trust pic between 2011 and 2018 and then became the Chairman from
2017 to 2022.
. Between 2014 and 2023 I was the Chair of Audit Committee for St James's
Place plc.
. Between 2021 and 2023 I was the Chairman at St James's Place
International ple which is located in Ireland.
From 2011 to 2023 I was the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for
SimCorp A/S which is based in Denmark.
From 2016 I have been the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at
Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust ple. I continue to hold this
role now.
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k. From 2018 I have been the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the
Crown Prosecution Service. I continue to hold this role now.
I. lam the current Chairman for Amlin Underwriting Limited. I have held this
role since 2023.
m. Finally, I am the current Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Post
Office Limited. I have held this role since 23 March 2023.
n. I expect to join the Board of an insurance company, MSIG UK Ltd, on 1
September 2024, and to become Chairman with effect from 1 January
2025.
9. In respect of my role as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for POL, a
headhunter approached me. I had previously known Henry Staunton (“HS”) whilst
at PwC, he was the current Chairman of POL Board when I joined. I had initial
conversations with HS and then several interviews with existing Board members.
I ultimately decided to join the Board as a Non-Executive director and Chair of
the Audit and Risk Committee as I felt that I ought to help to address the
challenges facing POL. The main interview and onboarding process took
approximately 4 months.
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Horizon IT System
10. The Horizon IT System (“Horizon”) is software developed by Fujitsu and
operated across POL network to account for branch transactions and balances.
I have not personally used Horizon but have witnessed demonstrations on at
least 5 occasions. Two of these demonstrations took place at Wood Street where
I was also shown the new system which is in development and is being rolled out
on a limited basis. I also had the opportunity to observe the old system so that it
was possible to compare and contrast systems. In addition to this, during my
induction to POL I visited 3 Postmasters at their branches and was able to see
Horizon live in operation.
11.In terms of the actual system, Horizon is an old system which has significant
limitations such as the fact that it is written in a code which is now dated. In
addition, Fujitsu have indicated that the system is end of life and that they wish
to discontinue supporting it. There are ongoing negotiations with Fujitsu in
respect of their continued support for Horizon.
12.Operating Horizon can be complex for Postmasters and frequently involves
multiple processes for a single transaction, and there is no customer self-service
facility. However, in my opinion the system has evolved into a reliable system
which works well in processing routine transactions.
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Experien: in P joard
43. My induction into my role as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee was relatively
straightforward and well organised, There was a formal program put together by
the Company Secretary, Rachel Scarrabelotti. I exhibit a copy of my Induction
Programme at SJ-01 [POL00448732], the document title is ‘Induction
Programme Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee, Simon Jeffreys, March 2023’. The program included scheduled
discussions with a variety of individuals, these were online virtual calls, telephone
calls and face to face meetings and visits.
14.The Induction Programme was an overview plan. Some meetings and or
locations changed during the process, and there were some additional people I
met with that are not included in this initial document. For example, the external
visit to the Cash Centre mentioned on page 5 of SJ-01 took place in London not
Birmingham. Pages 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 list the main individuals that I met with.
15.I initially had an online meeting with my predecessor, Carla Stent, and received
a thorough briefing. Following this she remained available for any follow up
questions I had.
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16.1n addition to this I received briefings from the Chief Executive Officer, Nick Reed
("NR") and the Chairman, Henry Staunton (“HS”). This was online in Teams and
lasted over an hour.
17. I also received briefings and or met with other POL representatives including:
a. Chief Financial Officer,
b. Group Financial Controller,
c. Group Chief Commercial Officer,
d. Group General Counsel,
e. Group Corporate Affairs and Communications Director,
f. Group Chief People Officer,
g. Group Chief Retail Officer,
h. Group Transformation and Strategy Director,
i. Director of Internal Audit,
j. Group Chief Digital and Information Officer,
k. Director of Strategy,
I. Chair of PO Insurance Limited Audit and Risk Committee,
m. Director of Risk and Compliance,
n. Retail Transformation Project leader,
o. Company Secretary,
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p. Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Non-Executive Directors and
General Counsel,
q. Legal Director and Head of Criminal Investigations Unit,
r. Managing Director of Parcels and Mails - Mails, PUDO, Retail and Branch
Identity Services,
s. Strategic Partnerships Director,
t. Banking Director,
u. Senior Assistant Company Secretary,
v. Head of Risk and Internal Audit,
w. Deputy Head of Risk,
x. Fleet Support,
y. Head of Data Management, DPO and DRO,
z. Historical Matters Director,
aa. Inquiry Director and
bb. Other Non-Executive directors (“NEDs") including the:
i. Chair of Remuneration Committee,
ii. Senior Independent Director,
ii, Two Postmaster NEDs
iv. UKGI representative,
cc. Group General Counsel,
dd. Speak Up Champion,
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ee. Deloitte partner responsible for Internal Audit co-sourcing,
ff. PricewaterhouseCoopers external audit Senior Partner, Engagement
Partner and Senior Manager,
gg.UKGI team on 23 May 2023 including Lorna Gratton, Roshana
Arasaratnam and Carl Creswell.
18. Further to the above, it was arranged for me to have several site visits including
to the Cash Centre. This took place in London on 27 November 2023. As stated
above, this was instead of visiting the Cash Centre in Birmingham. I attended the
Cash Centre with Ben Tidswell (“BT”) and Amanda Burton (“AB”). This is where
large amounts of cash are stored at a secure location for branches and for the
Bank of England. There are very large note counting machines, large vaults and
large quantities of bank notes on pallets.
19.! also visited three branches to meet the Postmasters. The Group Chief Retail
Officer, Martin Roberts, attended these visits with me and we discussed the
challenges, problems and processes the Postmasters were experiencing. We
also had the opportunity to gain an understanding of their role and observe their
operations including using Horizon with customers. These visits took place within
the first three months of the commencement of my role at POL.
20. More recently, in March 2024, I undertook a visit to Chesterfield which is the ‘Back
Office’. I attended with Lorna Gratton who is the UKGI Representative Non-
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Executive Director. Over 370 POL employees are located at Chesterfield
including the Retail Support Team, Customer Services and Finance Back Office.
21,Induction was wide ranging and included meeting the appropriate internal and
external people relevant for my role. The process was as good (if not better) than
similar inductions I have received on other Boards. There is an ongoing learning
and development process after induction that continues throughout a director's
term of office. My continuing technical training on accounting, financial reporting
and corporate governance comes primarily from presentations by accounting and
law firms, and from independent self-development and reading. POL specific
training is delivered by POL personnel and external specialists, for example, in
September 2023 Linklaters briefed the Board on the responsibilities of directors
regarding wrongful trading.
22.The induction process was very transparent and fluid. Alongside the Induction
Programme and site visits, I had a lot of informal meetings and discussions. I
would meet different people in the corridors and strike up a conversation with
them about POL and their specific area. You could approach anyone and ask
questions, there was very much an open-door policy. I found it useful to approach
a wide range of people on site in order to receive a holistic view of POL.
23.As I mentioned above, there was no fixed induction period, it was an ongoing
process. A Board meeting may raise an issue which led to me following up with
a relevant POL individual to clarify a point. In fact, during my first few months, I
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tended to have discussions immediately prior to Board Meetings which took place
roughly every month. These discussions varied between online, telephone calls
and face to face meetings. They were relatively short and informal and usually
related to a specific matter.
24.1n addition to my generic induction to POL I also received high level briefings in
respect of the issues with the Horizon IT system, the prosecution of SPM’s and
the Group Litigation Order (GLO). These briefings covered matters at a level
appropriate for the Board. I also was provided with access to papers which
provided me with further detail.
25. Major topics such as the GLO were vast and could have been discussed for days.
The information I received was limited but appropriate for my role, I was informed
of the principles and main findings. It was explained to me how shortcomings in
systems and controls at the Post Office gave rise to accounting discrepancies in
branch accounts leading to investigations and prosecutions of Postmasters.
These discrepancies were the result of errors including incorrect changes to
accounting records made by remote access. The Post Office had already
strengthened systems, and more changes were being made, to prevent these
erroneous discrepancies from arising, and to the extent that there were any
errors, to prevent any consequential harm, especially to Postmasters.
26.1 received a briefing from Simon Recaldin (“SR”) who is the director of the
unit established to administer the financial redress schemes. He was very
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approachable and ! had a number of discussions and meetings with him as and
when I had any queries or comments. SR also frequently presented papers to
the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, I usually met with him prior to his
attendance to discuss updates. This was primarily about the backlog and risks.
We discussed the reasons for the time taken to make payments, and how the
efforts of SR's team to encourage all eligible Postmasters to make claims,
resulted in a growing backlog of cases to be processed.
27.\ also discussed the issues outlined above with General Counsel, Ben Foat
(‘BF’). I had helpful but relatively brief conversations with him about major risks
facing POL, mitigating controls and the difficulties BF’s team were facing in trying
to enhance controls.
28. It was clear that a focus within POL was that history should not repeat itself. There
was certainly no feeling of defensiveness just a wish to be proactive and work as
a team to rectify the problems of the past. I would summarise the main priorities
of POL as:
i) To understand what happened to the Postmasters, what went wrong and
why it happened;
ii) To put in place controls to ensure it cannot happen again; and
iii) To get money to people who had been disadvantaged by Horizon as quickly
as possible.
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Corporate Governance
29. The Board consists of POL representatives, independent Non-Executives and a
representative from the Shareholder, in my opinion the structure is sensible.
Recently, Grant Thornton undertook a review of Corporate Governance and
produced a report which I exhibit at SJ-02 [POL00446477], the title of this
document is ‘Post Office Limited Governance Review- Final, 25 June 2024’.
30.1 believe that Grant Thornton were initially engaged to carry out a Board
Effectiveness Review, and that this had been discussed prior to HS becoming
Chairman. it was then decided it would be efficient to have Grant Thornton
expand the scope of their work to include a wider Corporate Governance Review.
The report identified matters which need to be considered further, some of these
are very sensible. The Board has an action plan in place to address these and
make further improvements. I exhibit a copy of POL Board Report dated 8 July
2024 at SJ-03 [POL00448735], the title of the document is ‘Grant Thornton
Corporate Governance Recommendations, 8 July 2024’. This document
summarises the recommendations in the Grant Thornton report and attaches
‘Appendix 1' which is a table that sets out the recommendations and includes an
initial assessment of actions already in train, and a view of where responsibilities
lie. I exhibit draft copy of ‘Appendix 1’ at SJ-04 [POL00448734], the title of this
document is ‘Grant Thornton Governance and Board Effectiveness Reviews:
recommendations tracker’. I believe this document is in ‘draft’ as it is a working
document.
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31.Section 4(a) on page 5 of SJ-04 includes the recommendations for Audit and
Risk Internal Control. I was pleased to see that there were very few
recommendations in respect of the Audit and Risk Compliance Committee
(‘ARC’). The column on the right notes my initial comments/responses to the
recommendations and confirms that the following will be considered at the next
ARC meeting which is due to take place on 23 September 2024:
a. ARC attendance, balance of representation, capability and time for
executive contribution.
b. The steps to better embed the Internal Controls Framework and address
the practical adherence to documentation (alongside monitoring the work
being done by Group Assurance under the new interim reporting lines for
second and third lines of defence).
c. Preparation for the new UK Code coming into force in 2025 and 2026 —
after which discussions will be held at Board on the pace of adoption of
emerging best practice.
32.1 had previously raised with the Board the question of whether there should be
separate Audit and Risk committees. This was after I had been at POL for 3 or 4
months. I said that I thought it was a good idea to split ARC as there was a huge
amount of work in audit, risk and internal control. I had also witnessed, in financial
services companies particularly, how successful it can be to have separate Risk
and Audit committees. The Board reflected on this and ultimately decided that it
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did not make sense to split the committee as the same people would be involved
on both committees, and there were enough committees already. I was fine with
this decision and upon reflection believe it was correct.
33.SJ-04 is an example of an Action Plan POL produced recording findings or
recommendations and the actions that need to be completed. Action plans were
produced as a result of the findings of legal judgements and matters identified by
the Inquiry. Actions arising from internal and external audits, risk and compliance
reviews and similar control functions are also recorded. I believe this approach
has a strong positive effect on culture by seeking to identify exactly what needs
to be done, and by whom, to change behaviors and processes. The strategic
guidance provided is very helpful in bringing about changes in behaviour and
culture, even in cases where the actions have not yet been fully completed.
P. ult
34.The current culture of POL at Board level is positive and employees are strongly
motivated to ‘do the right thing’. This has certainly been my experience since I
joined the Board in March 2023, I cannot comment on the culture at the time of
the legal rulings as I was not present at that time. Current members of the
leadership team are very able and focus on POL's key priorities. Postmasters are
recognised as highest priority stakeholders and their interests are always
considered when key judgements are made. The moral compass of the Board is
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in the right place. Postmasters are incredibly important to the Board. There is a
strong desire to be helpful to the Inquiry and to ensure there is a supportive
environment where employees feel comfortable to ‘Speak Up’. Staff should feel
that any disclosures can be made confidentially, and will be taken seriously and
fully investigated
35.The ethos and values of POL employees is incredibly important to POL. There
have been a number of changes to POL staff and Board over the years. The
steps POL is taking to maintain the positive culture means they are very careful
in the recruitment process. It is hugely important for there to be positive and
proactive individuals within the company.
36.Whilst the culture and atmosphere at POL is proactive and positive, there are
some challenges within the company which can limit progress. Frustrations have
arisen as a result of the uncertainty over the vision for POL, for example, the
definition of social purpose, the appropriate number of branches and the role and
authority of the Shareholder. There has recently been a big debate around the
extension of the Fujitsu contract for Horizon, whether the system should be
brought in house, a new system developed internally, or if a new IT system should
be purchased and configured. A large amount of money has been spent trying to
develop a product to replace Horizon but progress on this is very slow and I
question the cost/benefit of continuing with this.
37. Other frustrations include;
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a. Not knowing the sources and amount of funding and the timing of when it
will be received,
b. Authority of the Board and executive to make some ‘business as usual’
decisions without reference to the shareholder,
c. The appropriate reward structure to compensate and incentivise
employees,
d. Complex unhelpful procurement rules, and
e. The ability to attract suitably qualified and experienced staff in appropriate
numbers given headcount restrictions, current levels of compensation,
and that the current public perception of the POL brand is an ongoing
issue. This is coupled with the practical difficulties of moving
underperforming or otherwise unsuitable people into less challenging or
unconflicted roles.
Relationship with SPM, Man and Assistan
38.In my opinion, the culture at POL supports the building and maintaining of trust
between POL and SPMs, managers and assistants. This is something which is
clear and constantly reinforced. The intent of the culture at POL is to build and
maintain trust with everyone in the POL network. I have listed at paragraphs 36
and 37 above some of the challenges arising in the execution of this strategy and
the hurdles to be overcome in order to achieve and embed this ambition fully.
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39. The willingness to build and maintain trust with all in the POL network is a known
priority and people do try to ensure the best relationships exist across the
company. Some managers and directors go to Postmaster conferences to ensure
SPM voices are heard and understood. Decisions are made with SPMs in mind.
The Board always think about SPMs’ reactions, and about important matters that
will impact them such as whether a certain change could generate more revenue,
or make their lives easier. We regularly engage with the SPM representatives on
the Board and make sure they give us their views. The current SPM
representatives’ terms of office are being extended to provide continuity during a
period of significant change.
40.In terms of the Board's relationship with SPMs, every effort is made to ensure
this is positive. Board members take proactive steps to nurture the relationship.
We have two Postmasters as Non-Executive directors on the Board. They are an
integral and valid part of the Board.
4
a
-Board members make personal visits to Postmasters to ensure their needs and
wants are understood. Board members have attended Postmaster conferences
and also meet with POL personne! who are responsible for and engage with
Postmasters. I was unable to attend the last annual conference due to a prior
engagement but intend to attend the next conference.
42. The Board meetings are open and transparent. The Board and its members are
challenged by Postmasters, including the Non-Executives, and the Board actively
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seeks ways to understand better the needs of Postmasters, and how
management can effect changes to improve relationships, and outcomes for
Postmasters. Key issues discussed are remuneration, products, systems, cash,
stock levels (including cash and stamps), management team members, and
equipment to be provided to Postmasters (for example, self-service screens, note
counters, printers and single point of sale terminals).
Key Relevant External older:
43. The Board do not have direct contact with all key external stakeholders, such as
the National Federation of Sub-Postmaster (NFSP), Communications and
Workers Union (CWU), Fujitsu or representatives from the Department for
Business and Trade (DBT).
44.The only contact that I have is with UKGI. My experience with UKGI
representatives is that they seek to make communication with other government
departments as easy as possible but that they lack the authority to make certain
important decisions. The UKGI representatives are clear and reliable which
creates a strong base for their relationships.
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Whistleblowing Reports
45.My impression is that POL does encourage whistieblowing. I have limited
experience of this area within POL. AB who is a Non-Executive director and POL
Whistleblowing Champion has reported that this function works well. I have had
conversations with others within the organisation who have agreed with this
including individuals in Finance and Human Resources. There is a
Whistleblowing Policy which is called the ‘Speak Up Policy’ this is included within
the Code of Conduct. I exhibit a copy of Code of Conduct which is available on
POL website at SJ-05 [POL00447907}, the title of the document is ‘Our Code of
Business Conduct’.
46.The Whistleblowing Champion updates the Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee as appropriate. I exhibit a copy of Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee meeting document from a meeting that took place on 21 May 2024 at
$J-06 [POL00448733], the title of the document is ‘POL ARC Meeting
21/05/2024 09:00AM — 12:00PM’. On pages 175 to 178 there is an example of a
‘Speak Up Update’ for Quarter 1 in 2024 (1 January to 31 March 2024). This
document shows how whistleblowing information cascades down to other
employees.
47. \t was reported that there were almost double the amount of Speak Up Reports
since the last quarter and, at the time of the update, there were 15 active Speak
Up matters open. 75% of the reports this year have been by POL staff. I took this
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all as positive as employees clearly felt comfortable speaking up and this is
something that is encouraged throughout the company and particularly at Board
level.
48.The ‘Speak Up Update’ provides an overview of the report/allegations which in
Q1 2024 ranged from allegations of ethics breaches, discrimination and or
bullying to relocation of a branch, and a compensation request following an
accident at work. The ‘Speak Up Update’ also comments on the outcome of
actions following the reports. There is a helpful table summarising this in
Appendix 1 which is located on page 178 of SJ-06. Appendix 1 also includes a
bar chart for the past year showing the number of reports received. Finally,
themes and challenges are identified within the ‘Speak Up Update’, for Q1 2024
they can be found on pages 176 and 177 of SJ-06. These help with forward
planning and identifying areas where more support or investigation are required.
49.1 understand that a lot of matters are settled quickly, however every now and then
there is a high-profile case, for example there was a complaint against NR. Ina
case like that, the matter was discussed by the Board and an external lawyer was
instructed to conduct an investigation.
50.1 am surprised by how few cases there are. However, this could be a sign that
the management processes are working well and people do not feel the need to
resort to Whistleblowing.
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51.1 believe that POL Whistleblowing arrangements are adequate and effective
based on the information I receive, but again, the Whistleblowing Champion, AB,
would be able to give a more complete answer on this point. When I have asked
people such as individuals in Finance and Human Resources I have been
informed that employees feel open to speak up if they wish.
52.In my opinion Whistleblowing within POL does result in action, which is
sometimes very public like the investigation into NR.
53.1 do not have the full details of the Whistleblowing reports, these are kept
confidential to preserve the anonymity of Whistleblowers.
54.1 am aware of Whistleblowing reports having been made within POL since the
findings of Fraser LJ but I am not sure whether they are in respect of matters
relevant to the issues being explored by the Inquiry. AB, the Whistleblowing
Champion would be the best person to provide details in respect of this.
Legal Professional Privilege
55.1 am not an expert on legal professional privilege (“LPP”) but my experience in
the past has been that it is extremely difficult to preserve LLP as the technical
requirements are very specific.
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56.1 appreciate that all Board members will not be privy to all legal documents, I
would be guided by the General Counsel as to whether something is appropriate
for me to see or not. I would also expect to receive a suitable briefing on all
important matters including an overview of the legal issues to be considered to
enable the Board to discharge our duties. Based on my experience to date I do
not have any concerns.
Key Events
57.1 have considered a Times article dated 19 February 2024 [RLIT0000201]. I was
not part of the discussions involving HS, the Postmaster NEDs and the then
Secretary of State ("SOS") and so I cannot comment on what was said at that
time.
58.in February 2024 I was aware that the Postmaster NEDs were frustrated and this
was discussed openly at Board meetings. The Board listened carefully to the
points made by the Postmaster NEDs. For example, the ongoing employment of
investigators that were involved in the prosecution of SPM linked to the Horizon
scandal has been discussed by the Board on a number of occasions. The matter
was investigated and the importance of observing employment law and being fair
to potentially completely innocent people who may be the victims of inaccurate
reporting was considered. The relevant individuals were grouped according to
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their prior roles and the appropriate treatment of each group was considered and
agreed by the Board, including the Postmaster NEDs.
59.1 note that the article quotes a statement of Mr Jacobs saying that he and Mr
Ismail felt ‘ignored and seen [...] as an annoyance” by other members of POL
Board. That certainly is not my experience of the relationship. I never witnessed
any inappropriate behaviour towards Mr Jacobs and Mr Ismail and personally I
never found them annoying.
60.1 do not recall if I have seen the leaked draft email/memo mentioned in the article.
However I do recall the contents being discussed during a Board meeting
although I do not recail this discussion in detail.
Henry Staunton’s Dismissal
61.1 have very little knowledge of the circumstances of the dismissal of HS in January
2024. The only information I have is that which was reported in the press at the
time. I recall that his dismissal happened over a weekend of 27/28 January 2024.
The first I heard about his dismissal was in an email from NR at 18:24 on
Saturday 27 January 2024 advising the Board that HS had been dismissed by
the SOS. There was no additional information. I exhibit a copy of this email at SJ-
07 [POL00448737].
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62. Following this, I recall seeing a Guardian article with the title ‘Post Office Chair
dismissed as business reels from Horizon IT scandal’. This was at 18:40 on
Saturday 27 January 2024. I exhibit a copy of this article at SJ-08 [RLIT0000340].
We did not receive any further communication or explanation from HS.
63.1 received an email on Saturday 27 January from the SID, BT, to arrange a Teams
call for the following day. I exhibit a copy of this email at SJ-09 [POL00448736].
During the call I recall a discussion about us all being surprised by HS’s departure
but there was no information about the specific circumstances of his leaving. We
were much more focused on BT taking over as acting Chair and how we would
operate without HS.
64.We had prearranged Board meetings in the diary for the following Monday and
Tuesday and these meetings went ahead as planned, without HS, again the
reason for his departure was not discussed.
Alisdair Cameron
65. Alisdair Cameron (“AC”) was the CFO at the time I joined the Post Office, and I
spoke with him as part of my induction. However, he went on sick leave in May
2023 shortly after I joined. He did not speak to me about his departure before he
left, and I had no contact with him while he was away. My understanding is that
he provided a number of doctors’ notes during his illness.
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66. I also understand that negotiations with him about his departure concluded during
June 2023. He left with ‘good leaver’ status and received a settlement for leaving
early.
67. The Board agreed the broad terms, but not the detail, of AC’s settlement.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I believe the content of this statement to be true.
Dated: ‘ Se plewnlas 02
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Index to First Witness Statement of Simon Jeffreys
Simon Jeffreys Induction
Programme Non-Executive Director
1 I PoL00448732 I and Chair of the Ausit, Riskand I gro-seangog
Compliance Committee, March
2023
Post Office Limited Governance POL-BSFF-099-
2 I POL00446477 I Review, 25 June 2024 0000003
Grant Thornton Corporate
3 I! POL00448735 I I Governance Recommendations, 8 POL-BSFF-WITN-
July 2024
010-0000041
Grant Thornton Governance and
POL-BSFF-WITN-
4 I POL00448734 I Board Effectiveness Reviews:
recommendations tracker o19-go00087
: POL-BSFF-WITN-
5 I POL00447907 I POL Code of Business Conduct 406-0000147
POL ARC Meeting Notes from POL-BSFF-WITN-
6 I POL00448733 I esting on 21/05/2024 010-0000033
News article from The Times titled
7 I RLITOO00201 I ‘Postmasters on Post Office board {I RLITO000201
“ignored and unwanted’
Email from Nick Reed on 27
January 2024 advising the POL 4 . _
8 I POL00448736 I Board that Henry Staunton had dsoapatent ITN
been dismissed by the Secretary of
State
The Observer - newspaper article -
‘Post Office chair dismissed as
9) RLITo000340 business reels from Horizon IT RLITO000340
scandal’
Email chain from Simon Jeffreys to
10 I POL00448737 Laura Ferguson and Rawa Hussain
re: A message from Nick: Post
Office Chairman’
POL-BSFF-WITN-
033-0000002
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