Following revelations that bonuses were wrongly paid to senior Post Office executives, James called on ministers to take all necessary action including personnel changes.
The Business Minister said:
The situation is extremely concerning and deeply regrettable and the Post Office is right to apologise. This is a very serious issue, particularly as it comes at a time when it is essential that the public have confidence that the culture and processes at the Post Office have been improved. The Post Office has rightly apologised to the inquiry and issued a clarification on its website. The Post Office chief executive officer and chief finance officer have returned the remuneration associated with the sub-metric relating to the Post Office’s support for the inquiry. The Post Office CEO has also apologised to Department for Business and Trade Ministers."
James Wild MP said:
An apology and the repayment of bonuses that should never have been awarded in the first place is, frankly, the minimum we should expect. Will my hon. Friend ensure that all necessary steps are taken, including personnel changes, following the report he is due to receive?
As I say, we should wait for the outcome of the inquiry, but these are serious matters and we should take them seriously. I have great sympathy with my hon. Friend’s points. A lot of these matters are governed by employment law, and it is important that we respect due process. We would expect other organisations to do that and we should do it too, but I will take his comments on board, of course.
