The City grandee, who was sacked by Kemi Badenoch in January, was tonight slammed for using “discriminatory” language in a summit to select a new non-executive director.
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An independent probe found that while Staunton, 75, discussed a candidate with colleagues, he asked: “She doesn’t look coloured, where does she come from?”
He also called younger female candidates “girls” and older female candidates “ladies” – before asking whether one woman applicant would be a “pain in the arse” to work with.
Staunton previously acknowledged he was under investigation for alleged “politically incorrect comments” at a House of Commons committee meeting in February.
But a barrister’s report obtained by The Sun blasts him for obscuring the full extent of the accusations.
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It reads: “Mr Staunton’s remarks were discriminatory on grounds of race and sex, and therefore not in accordance with the Dignity at Work Policy.
“The remarks go well beyond his characterisation of them as potentially ‘politically incorrect’ statements.”
Addressing his use of the “offensive and outdated” term ‘coloured’, the barrister went on: “Questions regarding an individual’s origins, particularly during a recruitment process, are inappropriate.
“I consider it is unlikely Mr Staunton would have questioned the origin of a candidate with a British sounding name.
“Whilst his desire to increase diversity at Board level was no doubt genuine and to be welcomed, his approach fell far short of acceptable standards.”
The report also reveals Mr Staunton branded anti-harassment investigations a “cancer” in the Post Office and had an “outdated” view of a “speak up” whistleblower scheme.
The barrister adds: “It was very troubling that those remarks were made by the then Chair of an organisation that is grappling with the most serious of institutional failings.”
SACKED BY BADENOCH
Ex-ITV board member Staunton was let go from the Post Office by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch after the pair scrapped over the governance of the publicly-owned body in January.
Ms Badenoch was reportedly keen to increase Whitehall’s involvement in the Post Office following the Horizon scandal, in which more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of false accounting.
Staunton later accused the Secretary of State of running a “smear campaign” against him.
But a government source said last night: “Reading the barrister’s report it suddenly makes sense why Henry Staunton reacted so badly to being fired by a black, female Business Secretary.”
The probe cleared current chief executive Nick Read of allegations he showed a bad attitude towards former HR boss Jane Davies – the only woman in the company’s top management structure.
It added: “Some self-reflection on his approach towards certain issues such as his pay may be welcome.”
The Post Office said: “The external investigator has made some recommendations on where improvements can be made to Post Office’s processes.
“Those recommendations are helpful and we will ensure that they are properly and promptly addressed going forward.”
It declined to comment on Mr Staunton’s conduct.
Mr Staunton told The Telegraph in a response: “I have not been shown the report, so I cannot comment on the findings themselves”
The former Post Office chair said his comments about “girls” being “pains in the arses” were made while quoting a woman in a senior management role at another company.
Reading the barrister’s report it suddenly makes sense why Henry Staunton reacted so badly to being fired by a black, female Business Secretary
Government source speaking to The Sun
He added: “Similarly, the question I posed about the ethnicity of a candidate was seeking clarification in the context of our efforts to increase diversity.
“I understand that the term I used has now fallen out of favour and is one I will not use again.”
“I leave it to others to decide to what extent the Post Office’s investigation can be judged to be truly independent, but from my perspective, there are serious questions about the way the investigation has been conducted, and, if the findings are as reported, not ones I can accept.”