Former Lotto boss on his biggest gamble - rescuing the scandal hit Post Office

Neil Brocklehurst has taken on the gamble of his life in saying he will turn the ailing Post Office into a business fighting fit for the 21st century. And as the ex-boss of former National Lottery operator Camelot, it is a punt he expects to win. Friends, however, remain doubtful.

He told the Express: "There were many people telling me 'what the hell are you doing?' It's a pretty tough gig, but I think someone has got to fix it. There is a place for the Post Office, and there is a place for face-to-face human connection and interaction. I am confident people will continue to use their Post Offices because they are great places with fantastic people offering great products. Our key strength is our network of 11,500 branches staffed by incredible people. No one has that reach."

While few doubt the flawless credentials of the postmasters toiling all week to keep businesses afloat, the public feels rightly betrayed by the Post Office's past management.

The Horizon IT scandal saw the wrongful prosecution of more than 900 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses due to errors in its accounting software.

The discredited system saw pillars of the community blamed - in some cases jailed - for having their fingers in the till in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK history.

The scandal was first exposed years ago but made famous by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office starring Toby Jones as Sir Alan Bates who doggedly exposed a litany of appalling failures that cost lives, livelihoods, and reputations.

Mr Brocklehurst said: "What happened previously was absolutely horrific. Both as a human being and as the new Chief Executive of the Post Office, what happened was absolutely awful.

"We can say sorry - and we can say sorry until we are blue in the face - but my job is to work with the postmasters to give them the remuneration they need and deserve to run their business.

"The Post Office was such a trusted institution, so how could such a trusted institution do something like that? I felt it when I first heard the stories and watched the drama on TV like everyone else in the UK."

To date, more than £1 billion has been paid out in financial redress to over 7,300 postmasters affected by the scandal.

Mr Brocklehurst said: "I wasn't fully expecting what I found - an organisation that was incredibly bruised, I think that was understandable, but it had led to a set of behaviours not in the best interests of the company long-term so people were frightened of sticking their head above the parapet for fear of having it shot off (and) that leads to quite an insular business.

"It was very siloed, and that leads to inefficiency, and the centre had grown way too big. It had become bureaucratic, overcomplicated and just absorbed the money the network earns. Far too much of it was being spent at the centre, and far too little of it was being sent back out to the people who earn the money.

"So we are looking at all aspects - culture, technology, processes, organisational structures, products... everything is on the table now. And if there are products and services the Post Office isn't currently offering, we need to listen and respond."