Kemi Badenoch tells Post Office inquiry government ‘machine’ slowed redress for sub-postmasters

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the inquiry

Turning to compensation and redress, Jason Beer KC pulls up Badenoch’s witness statement, in which she writes that she and former Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake “wanted to get the money out there” for affected sub-postmasters.

“But we were always given a reason why we couldn’t,” Beer reads – citing Badenoch’s statement.

Beer asks if Badenoch was aware of “any blockers in the Treasury” to full and fair compensation.

“No,” Badenoch replies.

Beer then asks why she then became concerned with the pace at which the compensation was being delivered.

“Justice delayed is basically justice denied,” Badenoch tells the inquiry. “I feel there is often too much bureaucracy in the way of getting things done.

“People are worried about process, them being on the hook for that and so they carry out lots of checks and balances beyond what I think is required in order to deliver the right outcome.

Beer highlights another part of her statement, reading: “We were allowing bureaucracy to get in the way of redress too much of the time.”

Who was allowing this, he asks.

“The government machine,” Badenoch answers.