New boss says he'll make the struggling business fit for the 21st century

NEIL Brocklehurst has taken on the gamble of his life in saying he will turn the ailing Post Office into a business fighting fit for the 21st century.

- By Giles Sheldrick

As the ex-boss of former National Lottery operator Camelot, it is a punt he expects to win. Friends, however, remain doubtful.

He said: “There were many people telling me, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ It’s a pretty tough gig, but I think someone has got to fix it.

“There is a place for the Post Office and there is a place for face-to-face human connection and interaction.

“I am confident people will continue to use their Post Offices because they are great places with fantastic people offering great products.

“Our key strength is our network of 11,500 branches staffed by incredible people. No one has that reach.”

While few doubt the flawless credentials of the postmasters toiling all week to keep businesses afloat, the public feels rightly betrayed by the Post Office’s past management.

The Horizon IT scandal saw the wrongful prosecution of more than 900 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses due to errors in its accounting software.

Mr Brocklehurst said: “What happened previously was absolutely horrific. Both as a human being, and as [the new] chief executive of the Post Office, what happened was absolutely awful.

“We can say sorry - and we can say sorry until we are blue in the face - but my job is to work with the postmasters to give them the remuneration they need and deserve to run their business.

“The Post Office was such a trusted institution, so how could such a trusted institution do something like that?”

To date more than £1billion has been paid out in financial redress to over 7,300 postmasters affected by the scandal.