Former Camelot boss named as new Post Office chairman

The former boss of previous National Lottery operator Camelot has been named as the new interim chairman of the scandal-hit Post Office.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch appointed Nigel Railton to the post, replacing Henry Staunton – who was sacked in January.

The Government said Mr Railton will take up the role at the state-owned Post Office “as soon as possible”, following pre-appointment checks.

It said he has the necessary experience of “transforming organisations” to take on the role.

The former chief executive of Camelot, which handed over the running of the National Lottery to Allwyn in February after losing the licence, will take on the job as the Post Office looks to pay long-delayed compensation to victims of the Horizon IT scandal.

It comes as the Post Office is subject to an ongoing public inquiry into the affair, which saw hundreds of innocent subpostmasters wrongly convicted as a result of faulty Horizon software.

Ms Badenoch said: “Nigel has the necessary experience to lead an organisation as large and complex as the Post Office and I’m confident he will work well with the leadership team to implement the change that is required in the organisation.

“The Government is committed to delivering justice for the postmasters, but also fulfil our duties to Post Office staff.

“I want to thank Nigel for stepping up to public service at a time of need, and I know he can help fix the issues of the past whilst transforming the company for the future.”

Mr Railton said: “This is an incredibly challenging time for the Post Office as it works to address historic failures while also striving to transform its business.”

Mr Railton headed up Camelot for over five years until he stepped down in February 2023 amid a shake-up as it was bought by Allwyn ahead of the lottery licence handover.

He also chairs London-listed currency management services firm Argentex Group and was previously a senior management accountant at Daewoo Cars, having started his career at British Rail.

His Post Office predecessor, Mr Staunton, was dismissed by Ms Badenoch at the start of the year, but the pair soon became embroiled in a war of words.

Mr Staunton claimed in an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper that he had been asked by the Government to delay compensation payouts to subpostmasters ahead of the next general election due to worries over costs.

But Ms Badenoch hit back, rebutting the claims as “completely false” and insisting he was sacked because of “serious concerns about his behaviour”.

Mr Staunton denies any misconduct during his time at the Post Office.