Nick Read, the Post Office Chief Executive, is standing down at the end of March next year.

In an email to Subpostmasters (first picked by the ever-vigilant Sky News City Editor, Mark Kleinman) Read wrote: “it has been a privilege to work with you during what has been a challenging and difficult time for the business”.

The Postmaster who forwarded me Read’s email did so with two words: “As expected.”

Read is not currently doing his day job, having stood aside as CEO in July order to work on his evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and “demonstrate the changes we have made and give confidence to the Inquiry and the country at large that ‘nothing like this could happen again’.”

The Inquiry begins its final phase next week, with Read scheduled to give evidence over three days from 9 – 11 October.

In his email today, Read said:

“I have been discussing my plans with the new Chair [Nigel Railton] since he arrived in May. It is clear that the execution of the strategic review will require a 3-5 year commitment and, whilst it has been an enormous privilege to serve and I have great affection for the business, it feels like the right time for a leadership transition.

“It is a natural time to initiate change. I will have steered the business to the end of the formal evidence gathering phases of the Inquiry, as I committed to doing to the Secretary of State in March. We will have concluded our strategic review and spending review and we will have made significant progress with redress.”

Read’s five year tenure will be remembered for his failure to get a grip of the various redress schemes set up to help Subpostmasters ruined by his predecessors, his apparent inability to either motivate or work with other Post Office execs (see this Daily Telegraph article for more) and his alleged total focus on getting himself a pay rise above all other distractions, something he also failed to achieve.

Read finished his email today by saying:

“There is no question that the settlement of the Group Litigation Order in late 2019 was the catalyst for change… of course, there remains much to be done.  I am extremely aware that our heartfelt apology cannot be said too loudly nor too often, but it must continue to be backed up with concrete actions and ongoing change.

“I am confident that the addition of serving Postmasters on our Board for the first time in our 360 year history, will continue to shape the culture, and ensure in time that you are able to reap greater rewards from the excellent work you do across the length and breadth of this country every day.”

When he stepped down to focus on the Inquiry, Deputy CEO Owen Woodley took over the day-to-day running of the Post Office. Woodley has left already for personal reasons, handing over the reins to Neil Brocklehurst, who worked with Nigel Railton at Camelot.

Assuming Brocklehurst lasts until March next year (which he probably will, with Railton in his corner), he would be a shoo-in to get the job permanently.

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