The Post Office chief was fired because it “just wasn’t working”, the business secretary reveals.
Kemi Badenoch told the BBC that Henry Staunton’s exit was more than just a fallout from the Horizon scandal, in the wake of public fury over the unjust convictions of sub-postmasters.
Ms Badenoch said she ousted him after worries about Post Office governance and “the entire business model”.
Labour urged the government to give more concrete reasons for its decision.
Mr Staunton quit the role on Saturday. The BBC has sought his comment. Appearing on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Ms Badenoch said it was very hard for someone to be asked to step down from a position.
But, she went on: “I decided given all of the troubles the Post Office is facing, it’s not just about Horizon, it’s about the whole business model, how we make it work, that we needed someone who could chair a board that was capable of handling these things effectively.”
She explained that one of her priorities was the governance of the Post Office, and said: “That was where my deciding that we needed a new chair of the organisation was crucial. It just wasn’t working.”
Ms Badenoch added that there were “various clashes” within the board “and when I looked at it I thought change of personnel was what was needed”.
She refused to rule out more personnel changes when appearing on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips and mentioned “difficulties” and other board members.
On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she refused to set a deadline to deliver full compensation for those affected – mirroring Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s stance. But Ms Badenoch vowed “we couldn’t move any quicker than we already have been”.
“Setting a deadline is not the priority,” she said.
“Getting the money out, getting fair compensation, sorting out the governance of the Post Office, is the vital thing.”
It comes as the Post Office is struggling with the aftermath of the Horizon scandal, which has been labelled the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.
More than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty accounting software Horizon made it seem as though money was vanishing from their shops.
The Post Office said Mr Staunton had been asked to go by Ms Badenoch.
