Post Office CEO Nick Read was applauded by colleagues at the end of a speech last week in which he confirmed his decision to step down as of March 2025.

Read was thanking them for the support they had shown him during his five years at the business, and in particular since the turn of the year – when the ongoing Horizon IT scandal soared to the top of the public consciousness after the airing of ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

The scandal it portrayed involved the Post Office pursuing wrongful convictions of hundreds of its sub-postmasters, blaming them for discrepancies in accounting which later proved to have been caused by bugs in the IT system. The events pre-dated Read’s arrival at the organisation, but the fallout from them has dominated his tenure.

Last week Read signalled some reasons to be cheerful for the Post Office. Of course he acknowledged the scandal, saying: “We can’t apologise loudly enough or often enough for the behaviours of the past.” However he went on to say: “I think there really are good times ahead. I think it may be a bit dark over the next few weeks but I think it will get brighter.”

The darkness of the next few weeks, as he puts it, will revolve around the latest phase of the long-running public inquiry into the Horizon scandal. This next phase is set to look at the current culture of the Post Office, how it has changed in the wake of the scandal, and how it is supporting the victims. It kicked off today, with the publication of two major YouGov surveys, commissioned by the inquiry lead Sir Wyn Williams over the summer and released. 

 

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The results suggest that when Read is called to appear at the Inquiry next month, he will face some very uncomfortable questions.

In his speech last week, Read said the Post Office must continue to put pressure on the government to ensure compensation flows to where it needs to go, and that “we’ve got to tirelessly rebuild trust with postmasters and that is something that never stops”.

But based on the survey results trust is a long way away.

The most shocking finding is that problems with the Horizon system persist. And not just a handful. The vast majority (92%) of sub-postmasters reported experiencing problems with the IT system in the last year. More than half 57% said they had experienced unexplained discrepancies, while 19% said they had seen unexplained transactions, 14% reported missing transactions and 10% reported replicated transactions.

And when asked how these discrepancies were typically resolved, it was most common for subpostmasters to report using their branch’s money or to resolve it themselves. 

A second YouGov survey was sent specifically to members of the Horizon shortfall compensation scheme. Just under half (49%) expressed dissatisfaction with the scheme and 47% found it hard to understand. Almost four in five (78%) reported they had not received contact from a case assessor, compared to just 10% that had been contacted.

Just over seven in 10 report feeling undervalued by the Post Office Limited. 

These results are a damning indictment on how successful that rebuilding of trust has been thus far. Ex Camelot MD Neil Brocklehurst, who joined the Post Office in July as interim COO, has already stepped up as acting CEO prior to the announcement of Read’s successor. It may not be quite the same hospital pass that Read himself received from his predecessor Paula Vennells, but it still looks like Brocklehurst has a very tough assignment ahead of him.

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