take the rap

The row between Ms Badenoch and Mr Staunton started when Mr Staunton told the Sunday Times that Ms Badenoch had said "someone's got to take the rap" during his sacking last month, and that a senior civil servant had instructed the rate of payments to be slowed.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Henry Staunton said that when he was sacked Ms Badenoch told him: "Someone's got to take the rap" for Post Office failings - a claim she has denied.

Mr Staunton also said that when he was sacked, Ms Badenoch had told him: "Someone's got to take the rap."

Staunton told the Sunday Times that when he was sacked Badenoch had told him: "Someone's got to take the rap."

He also told the Sunday Times the alleged request was linked to concerns about the cost of compensation heading into the election - and that Badenoch told him that "someone's got to take the rap" for the Horizon scandal.