Post is experiencing a leadership crisis in the wake of the Horizon investigation

The company is also working with an interim general counsel, with Sarah Gray taking on the role while general counsel Ben Foat prepares to give evidence at the official inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal later this year.

Owen Woodley, the company’s vice chairman and COO, who has been with the Post Office for eight years, is leaving the company this summer for personal reasons.

In the meantime, he will lead the company’s strategic review, which is expected to be completed in the fall.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We are focused on changing our culture and rebuilding trust. While this takes time, progress is being made. In addition to the recent appointment of Nigel Railton as interim chairman, we have just announced a number of senior appointments as we seek to bring in new expertise.”

The management shake-up is a sign of Mr Railton’s efforts to shore up the Post Office as bosses’ conduct comes under scrutiny following the wrongful conviction of numerous post office managers in the Horizon scandal.

Mr Staunton was sacked by Ms Badenoch in January after less than a year in the role, and he has since made a series of allegations against Mr Read, including that he promoted a culture of misogyny.

The company’s former HR director, Jane Davies, also claimed in April that Mr Read had launched a “campaign of defamation and ostracism” against her after she failed to secure him a pay rise of more than 5 percent.

The Post has said Mr Staunton and Ms Davies’ claims have been “discredited” by the independent report by Marianne Tutin of Devereux Chambers.

Railton was appointed interim chairman last month and has committed to a 12-month term. He stepped down as Camelot boss last year and Brocklehurst oversaw the process of handing over the National Lottery to Czech billionaire Karel Komárek earlier this year.