Post Office chairman Henry Staunton being "forced out" of his job - but who could potentially replace him?

The chairman of the Post Office is on the verge of losing his job - less than 18 months after taking the position.

According to Sky News, growing tensions between the Post Office and the government could mean boss Henry Staunton is on his way out. Sources have reportedly told Sky News that Staunton's departure is imminent, with the last details still being finalised.

It's reported that Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, made the decision for him.

More than 700 branch managers were prosecuted by the Post Office after Fujitsu’s faulty accounting software Horizon made it look as though money was missing from their shops. The saga prompted an outcry across the country after it was dramatised in the ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office earlier this month.

Hundreds of subpostmasters are awaiting compensation despite the government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.

Staunton replaced Tim Parker in September 2022 - and now, it seems, ministers will be searching for a new chairman at the helm of the Post Office. Sky News has reported that the government wants to appoint a Whitehall insider to the position.

Former financial services executive Andrew Darfoor would reportedly been Staunton's preferred replacement. A non-executive director, Darfoor has more than 25 years of general management and leadership experience and previously headed up companies such as Alexander Forbes, Sun Life Financial International and Old Mutual Bermuda.

Post Office senior independent director Ben Tidswell would also be touted for the role, if he wasn't also due to step down in the near future. Tidswell will apparently leave the Post Office sometime in the next few months.

With tensions last year over the mistaken payment of bonuses to chief executive Nick Read, perhaps the safe choice would be to sidestep him in favour of chief financial officer Alisdair Cameron. Cameron has worked for the Post Office for almost a decade and previously held senior positions in British Gas.