Staunton Badenoch row: Lib Dems demand ethics adviser investigation 

EMBARGO: Immediate release

The Lib Dems have demanded an investigation by the ethics adviser into whether Kemi Badenoch broke the ministerial code, over her claims that Henry Staunton’s allegations the government has stalled compensation payments were “completely false.”

It comes as The Times has reported that former Chairman of the Post Office Mr Staunton has shared a memo from January of his meeting with a top civil servant which says he was told to “hobble” into the next election and “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues.”

In the letter to the ethics adviser, the Lib Dems say that Kemi Badenoch could have potentially broken the Ministerial Code in article 1.3c which sets out that “Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister”. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said: 

“Time and again Conservative ministers have undermined the integrity of our politics. Now, this row embroiling Kemi Badenoch raises a whole series of new questions to which we urgently need answers.

“If Badenoch misled Parliament then she clearly breached the Ministerial Code.

“Subpostmasters - who are at the heart of this whole scandal - deserve justice, financial redress and the truth.”

ENDS 

Notes to Editor:  

Dear Sir Laurie Magnus,

I am writing further to the dispute between the Secretary of State for Business, Kemi Badenoch MP, and the former chairman of the Post Office, Henry Staunton.

Mr Staunton has claimed that he was told by a government official to ‘stall on spend on compensation [for subpostmasters]’ and ‘limp into the election’, and made other allegations about the behaviour of Kemi Badenoch and the Department. 

Kemi Badenoch has denied these allegations, calling them “completely false” in her appearance before the House of Commons earlier this week. However, Mr Staunton has since said that he stands by his comments. 

Since then The Times has reported that the former Chairman of the Post Office Mr Staunton has shared a memo from January 2024 of his meeting with a top civil servant which says he was told to “hobble” into the next election and “now was not the time for dealing with long-term issues.”

You will of course be aware that the Ministerial Code, in article 1.3c, sets out that, “Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister”. 

Given that Mr Staunton continues to stand by his allegations, there is a clear question as to who is telling the truth and whether Kemi Badenoch has knowingly misled Parliament. It is clearly in the public interest for the facts of this important matter to be determined. In your role as Ethics Adviser, I urge you to open an investigation into this matter and accordingly determine whether or not a breach of the Code has been committed by the Secretary of State.

Subpostmasters who are at the heart of this whole scandal deserve justice, financial redress and the truth.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader