Who is Henry Staunton? Ex-Post Office chairman in vicious row with Kemi Badenoch

It is the vicious war of words that threatens to stall Kemi Badenoch’s rise through the Conservative Party.

On Tuesday Henry Staunton, the former Post Office chairman who made a series of damaging claims about the government’s handling of the Horizon scandal in an interview in The Sunday Times in February, will delve deeper into his allegations at a select committee.

Staunton, 75, claimed he was told he was being removed from his post because “well, somebody’s got to take the rap”, and that civil servants said he should delay compensation payments to help Tory election chances.

Badenoch, the business secretary, hit back, saying Staunton was guilty of “spreading falsehoods”, that his interview was a “disgrace” and “a blatant attempt to seek revenge”, and that