Post Office boss to step down after 'challenging time for postmasters'
The Post Office CEO is stepping down
PA
Nick Read, the chief executive officer of the Post Office, will step down from his position next year, according to the postal delivery service.
This comes after the recent controversy surrounding the Horizon IT scandal which saw hundreds of postmasters wrongfully prosecuted as a result of faulty software.
Read had previously described it as a “great privilege” to have worked as the Post Office's CEO during an “extraordinarily challenging time for the business and for postmasters”.
The chief executive had previously confirmed his plan to temporarily step back from the role to give his “entire attention” to the next stage of the Horizon IT inquiry.
He has taken on the role in 2019, succeeding former Post Office boss Paula Vennells.
Earlier this year, Vennells gave back her CBE following public outrage over how she handled the Horizon IT scandal.
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The former chief executive of the Post Office, Paula Vennells has been stripped of her CBE following the Post Office scandalGettyDuring a Business and Trade Committee meeting earlier this year, MPs voiced their concern over Read's leadership.
However, the Post Office boss was “exonerated of all misconduct allegations” after a report into his behaviour.
This report came after he denied an accusation brought forward by Henry Staunton, the former chairman of the Post Office.
Staunton had claimed that Read had attempt to leave the company as a result of a pay dispute.
On his decision to step down, he said: “It has been a great privilege to work with colleagues and postmasters during the past five years in what has been an extraordinarily challenging time for the business and for postmasters.
“There remains much to be done for this great UK institution but the journey to reset the relationship with postmasters is well underway and our work to support justice and redress for postmasters will continue.”
Amid the fallout of the Horizon IT debacle, the Post Office has pledged to improve accessibility to cash services in an olive branch to customers.
In a survey conducted by the postal delivery service, 64 per cent of respondents and more than two-thirds of local businesses revealed access to cash is important to them.
Under new rules enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banking institutions will need to “plug the gaps” left from branch closures and ATM shut downs in any areas they operate in.
Hundreds of Banking Hubs are being rolled across the country as part of this effort to mitigate the impact of bank branch closures.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Alan Bates claims Post Office would ‘do anything to hide Horizon failures’PARoss Borkett, the Banking Director at Post Office, said: “Ever since we started offering banking services in our branches, we have worked closely with high street banks and building societies to provide banking services and access to cash in communities across the UK, ensuring that no one who relies on cash is left behind.
“We also work in collaboration with Cash Access UK and the banks to operate Banking Hubs, and we’re delighted to see the recent announcement from HMT and the banks confirming the commitment to 350 hubs and look forward to supporting the roll out of these critical services.
“Millions of people continue to use our branches every week as they are convenient places to bank, and our postmasters keep their branches open with long hours and provide friendly and knowledgeable services to support this.
“This is all the more important as the FCA Access to Cash regulations continue to be reviewed, with new rules being implemented today.”
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