Nick Read, the embattled chief executive of the Post Office, will depart from the struggling organization in March 2025. He will be succeeded on an interim basis by Neil Brocklehurst, the current chief operating officer.
In the wake of the Post Office scandal, victims have persistently demanded Read’s resignation, citing years of delays in compensation payments and recent reports indicating he threatened to resign unless he received a significant salary increase. Read took the helm as CEO in September 2019, stepping in for Paula Vennells just as a High Court case confirmed that the Horizon IT system from Fujitsu was responsible for accounting discrepancies wrongfully attributed to subpostmasters.
Tasked with modernizing the Post Office, Read’s initial move was to negotiate a settlement for the 555 claimants involved in the High Court case. He subsequently oversaw the establishment of compensation schemes, although many affected subpostmasters are still awaiting the resolution of their claims years later.
Earlier this year, Read found himself in the public eye amid outrage following the airing of the ITV drama “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” and he faced intense scrutiny during a parliamentary committee session where he was accused of providing misleading testimony—a charge he denied.
Additionally, Read became embroiled in a political controversy involving Kemi Badenoch, the former Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and ex-Post Office chairman Henry Staunton, who was dismissed by Badenoch. During Staunton’s testimony, he produced an extensive document indicating that Read was under investigation by the HR department. Staunton also alleged that Read had threatened to resign multiple times over his pay—contradicting Read’s earlier sworn testimony claiming he had never contemplated leaving his position.
In a statement regarding his departure, Read expressed, “It has been a great privilege to collaborate with colleagues and postmasters over these past five years during such a challenging period. While there is still much to accomplish for this esteemed UK institution, we are making progress in rebuilding relationships with postmasters, and our efforts to ensure justice and compensation for them will persist.”
Nigel Railton, the interim chair of the Post Office, acknowledged Read’s dedication and efforts, saying, “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Nick for his commitment and hard work in leading the business through this challenging period. He has played a vital role in steering the organization while initiating important cultural changes.”
Read is scheduled to appear in October for the next phase of the public inquiry into the Post Office scandal, which will focus on contemporary practices, procedures, and compensation matters.
His departure adds to a recent trend of resignations within the Post Office executive team. The organization currently has several key board positions filled on an interim basis, including chair, CFO, COO, and CTO.
Interim CEO Brocklehurst, who joined the Post Office in July as interim COO, previously worked at Camelot, the former National Lottery operator—similar to interim chair Railton and interim CTO Nice.
The Post Office scandal was first uncovered by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the harrowing experiences of seven subpostmasters affected by the Horizon accounting software, leading to one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British history. (See below for a timeline of Computer Weekly’s reporting on the scandal since 2009.)
• Also read: What you need to know about the Horizon scandal
• Also watch: ITV’s documentary – Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The real story
• Also read: Post Office and Fujitsu’s negligence and incompetence result in massive taxpayer costs