Horizon scandal 'hitting post office recruitment'

Communities are being left without post offices because of the Horizon IT scandal, a former Lib Dem leader has said.

Tim Farron, who said the issue was putting off potential branch owners, accused the Post Office of “inertia” and creating “administrative hurdles” when it came to recruiting.

His claims were backed by a sub-postmaster struggling to hand over his branch in Mr Farron's Cumbrian constituency.

The Post Office said it was the only retailer that actively seeks to replace closed branches at or near the same location.

Mr Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said recruitment problems had affected post offices in Shap, Hawkshead and Staveley.

He said: “I think the brand of the Post Office has been damaged in the eyes of a very small but crucial group of people, and that is current serving postmasters and those who may become them.”

The Post Office prosecuted more than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses for stealing money, based on incorrect information provided by its Horizon computer system.

It has been called the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

While inquiries, law changes and the formulation of compensation packages continue, research by Citizens’ Advice in 2022, external found the number of temporary post office closures had nearly doubled in four years.

Graham Livesey runs Staveley Post Office, but is due to resign as sub-postmaster in July after he was angered by watching the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office.

He said he would continue to run his shop, but Post Office services would be removed.

He had been trying to sell the business for years before deciding to resign.

“My partner and I put the business on the market in 2015 and we haven’t had a single viewing in nine years,” he said.

“I can only think that that’s due to the toxic attachment that the Post Office has and nobody wants to run a post office anymore.”

The Post Office said it was sorry to hear about his experience and it was advertising for a new sub-postmaster.

The company also said there was a “prospective new operator” for Shap and it hoped to be able to update people on plans for reopening “in the coming weeks”.

A spokesperson added: “We are the only retailer that actively seeks to replace branches that close in the exact or a location near to where a previous branch operated.

“We understand that this has been a difficult time for postmasters, but the Post Office continues to serve 10 million customers a week [and] our trading performance has and continued to exceed expectations.”

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