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HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
Mr Bates vs The Post Office - Incredible TRUE Story of How CORRUPT Post Office Officials Destroyed Hundreds of INNOCENT Post Masters Lives. Some Even Killed Themselves
Greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of Theft, Fraud and False accounting due to a defective IT system.
MailOnline 3 JAN 2024
ITV viewers vent their 'blood is boiling and feel sick to their stomach' just minutes into Mr Bates vs The Post Office
The drama follows the story of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft by the Post Office. CORRUPT Post Office Boss
The drama follows the story of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft by the Post Office.
The star-studded cast sees Toby Jones take the lead role of campaigner Alan Bates and Lia Williams plays Paula Vennells, chief executive of Post Office Ltd.
But those watching said they felt 'sick to my stomach' within the first twenty minutes of episode one, which aired on Monday.
Viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the Post Office scandal and applauded ITV for telling the story.
One wrote: 'Less than 20 mins in and not sure I can watch this. Sick to my stomach'.
Others said: 'Hi Mr Bates vs the Post Office my blood is boiling What a appalling disgrace the people who done this need to be in prison well done ITV'.
'A little to my surprise, after watching two-thirds of Mr. Bates, I had to stop. My anger towards the post office and their investigators became unbearable. Shame on the P.O. and the government for its procrastination. . What has happened to the UK over the last few decades..'
'Started watching Mr Bates vs The Post Office last night. Superb dramatisation of the Horizon IT scandal that tore lives apart, cast shame upon the @postoffice, & undermined faith in our criminal justice system. Unbelievable how it was allowed to happen.'
'Face it. "Mr. Bates vs the Post Office" is absolutely essential TV. The kind that used to be made. Applause to @ITV unreservedly.'
The four part drama follows subpostmasters being pursued through the courts despite their insistence it was the organisation's computer system, Horizon, that was at fault.
Toby, the defiant sub-postmaster running a shop in Llandudno, North Wales, made a speech at the start of Mr Bates vs The Post Office: 'They're not calling me a thief.
'They wouldn't dare. They say money's somehow gone missing from this branch, which it hasn't, and I have to pay it back, which I won't.'
Between 2000 and 2014, an average of one sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress a week was prosecuted, for theft and other offences (pictured Will Mellor as Lee and Amy Nuttall as Lisa)
Between 2000 and 2014, an average of one sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress a week was prosecuted, for theft, false accounting and other offences, by the Post Office. From a total of 736, some were jailed, many were bankrupted, all suffered appalling stress and public shame.
Yet for years Royal Mail and its computer partner Horizon – a system developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu – insisted that these were isolated cases.
In an era before social media, many of those accused had no idea that any other shops were facing the same problems, and assumed the fault must somehow be theirs.
The scandal is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, leading to the inquiry into what went wrong, and who was responsible.
THEIR FIGHT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY...
The four-part series will continue over the next three nights on ITV1 at 9pm, concluding on Thursday, January 4 and will be available on ITVX.
The British Post Office: Incredible TRUE Story -Greatest Miscarriage of Justice in British Legal History Against INNOCENT PostMasters
Police Probe CORRUPT Post Office Officials Who Convicted 700 INNOCENT PostMasters -WHERE Did The Missing Money GO?
Police to Probe Post Office over 'potential fraud offences' in wake of Horizon scandal that resulted in more than 700 sub-postmasters wrongfully convicted for 'stealing'
MailOnline 6 JAN 2024
The Post Office is under criminal investigation for fraud after the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters.
Scotland Yard confirmed last night that the organisation is being investigated by detectives for alleged fraud offences over their handling of the Horizon scandal.
The gilded lives of the Post Office scandal bosses that prove penitence is only for the little people...Chief Executive of the Post Office from 2012, Paula Vennells presided and LIED in the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history
Former Postmasters celebrating outside the Royal Courts of Justice after their convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal in April 2021
Nearly 100 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting due to the bug-ridden Horizon IT system. More than 700 staff had their lives ruined between 1999 and 2015, when they were accused of the crimes and dragged through the courts on the basis of evidence gathered by the unreliable computer programme.
For more than two decades, former Post Office staff fought to clear their names. Now they are in a position where those responsible for their suffering are under investigation.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told The Times that officers are 'investigating potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions', relating to 'monies recovered from sub-postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions'.
It is not clear whether the Post Office as a whole, or individuals, are being investigated.
Jo Hamilton, 66, a former sub-postmaster from Hampshire, said: 'They have made people's lives a misery and they have committed crimes. It is not just a computer problem — this is absolute corruption at its worst, state-sponsored corruption.'
Paul Marshall, a barrister who represents several of the wrongly convicted postmasters, said: 'The emergence of in-formation suggesting that the Met police is looking at fraud in connection with the Post Office's conduct is wholly unsurprising.
'Once it is accepted that postmasters were not experiencing real shortfalls at their branches, the money that the Post Office obtained from them, through demands… were themselves improper demands for money and money that was received unlawfully.
'The reality therefore appears to have been that the Post Office obtained large sums of money from its postmasters on grounds that were false and that were known by it to be false.'
There is currently a public inquiry into the fiasco, which has recently been dramatisied in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Since the four-part drama aired 50 former staff have come forward, with five seeking to appeal their convictions.
News that the Post Office is being investigated for fraud comes just days after lawyers to the inquiry said there is enough evidence to bring an investigation for perverting the course of justice.
Jo Hamilton, 66, a former sub-postmaster from Hampshire, said: 'They have made people's lives a misery and they have committed crimes'
The spokesman from the Met acknowledged this, adding: 'The Met is investigating potential offences of perjury and per-verting the course of justice.
'These potential offences arise out of investigations and prosecutions carried out by the Post Office.
The investigation was launched in January 2020 following a referral from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Two people have been interviewed under caution.
'Nobody has been arrested.'
Post Office Horizon IT scandal: Former Postmaster talks being wrongly accused of stealing £80k
Re:CORRUPT Japanese IT Firm & Post Office Boss EXPOSED as The REAL THIEVES
Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT': CORRUPT Former Post Office Boss Paula Vennells, Who Convicted 700 INNOCENT PostMasters, Faces Calls to Return £5 MILLION in Bonuses and Pension After Handing Back Her CBE
Japanese IT Firm Fujitsus' Scandal in Its Home Country, Where a Traditional 'Culture of Shame' Can Destroy Firms.
-IT Firm At Heart of The Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT' Scandal, Which Caused DEATHS & SUICIDES, is Also in Charge of Running The UK's CRIMINAL Records System -As EXPOSED in ITV drama, 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'
The Guardian 10 JAN 2024
Shamed Paula Vennells was last night facing calls to return £3million in bonuses and pension.
The former Post Office chief yesterday bowed to huge public pressure and finally gave up the CBE she was awarded in 2019.
But campaigners said her decision to hand the honour back with immediate effect was a token gesture and it was time she faced 'real justice'. She also LIED in court
Ms Vennells, 65, pocketed as much as £5million for being in charge during the Horizon IT scandal in which hundreds of postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted, bankrupted and jailed.
And she is now facing calls to return £2.93million in performance-related perks and payments in lieu of pension.
Ministers are considering legislation that would exonerate all sub-postmasters and mistresses wrongly convicted based on false evidence provided by the Post Office's Horizon accounting software.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs the idea is receiving "active consideration" after Nadhim Zahawi asked him to "bring in a simple bill to quash" all wrongful convictions "immediately".
The Post Office scandal saw more than 700 sub-postmasters convicted of fraud and theft after the Horizon system said there was money missing from accounts, leading to accusations that staff were stealing.
Mr Zahawi, when addressing Mr Chalk, told the Commons those wrongly convicted could not claim compensation until their convictions are quashed.
Japanese IT Firm Fujitsus At Heart of The Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT' Scandal Which Caused DEATHS & SUICIDES
Fujitsu Bosses Will Answer Questions From MPs Next Tuesday About The System..
Images of the post office Fujitsu Horizon IT system from the year 2000
Post Office managers are being forced to trust the IT firm at the heart of the Horizon scandal to clear their names – because it also runs Britain's criminal records system.
Victims who were wrongly convicted of fraud and theft described it as 'perverse' and 'another slap in the face' today as they try to piece their lives back together.
They also vowed to bring down the Japanese tech firm Fujitsu by exposing the Post Office scandal in its home country, where a traditional 'culture of shame' can destroy firms.
Fujitsu bosses will answer questions from MPs on the business and trade committee next Tuesday about the flawed Horizon accounting system.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake will attend the evidence session, and Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who brought a claim against the Post Office and was the subject of an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which thrust the scandal back into the spotlight, has also been invited.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) will attend the evidence session
Fujitsu told to cough up compensation over Post Office Horizon scandal
Fujitsu, whose defective Horizon IT system has been blamed for causing so much anguish, has been urged to pay compensation to victims by a senior Tory MP
Post Office managers are being forced to trust the IT firm at the heart of the Horizon scandal to clear their names because it also runs Britain's criminal records system
Chris Trousdale, 41, who was left with PTSD after Horizon wrongly reported £7,800 was missing from his post office in North Yorkshire, said: 'Fujitsu has never been properly held to account.
'It's perverse that we have to rely on them to remove our names from the criminal records database.'
Fujitsu ALSO signed a £48million deal in 2022 to maintain the Police National Computer, which stores details of all convictions and cautions, and fingerprint and DNA data.
In 2021, an error in the system led to the loss of 413,000 records of police evidence.
Postmasters whose convictions are overturned can ask the Criminal Records Office to expunge their records, but Fujitsu is responsible for removing the data.
Today victims said they had been approached by ex-Fujitsu staff who worked on Horizon.
A source said: 'Some whistleblowers have come forward after watching the ITV drama, and we hope they will agree to give evidence at the public inquiry.'
Downing Street said Fujitsu will be 'held accountable' if the public inquiry finds it blundered.
Fujitsu acknowledged the 'devastating impact' Horizon had on postmasters' lives, adding: 'Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering. Fujitsu is committed to supporting the inquiry.'
Pictured is Katherine Kelly as Angela, Lia Williams as Paula and Ian Hart as Bob Rutherford in the ITV show Mr Bates vs Post Office
Horizon Scandal: Falsely Accused Sub-Postmaster Went Through '20 Years of HELL'
Former Sub-Postmaster Struggles to Find Work After Being Tarred as a Fraudster
After Decades of HELL, FINALLY.. Justice For Victims - Over 700 Former Postmasters Could Get Compensation
Rishi Sunak says NEW LAW will quash convictions for HUNDREDS whose lives were wrecked if they sign simple declaration of innocence - opening the door to 'life-changing' compensation. Over 700 former postmasters could be cleared and get compensation this year.
The Post Office Could Go BANKRUPT on The Millions They Have Already Paid Former Postmasters' Lawyers, For Which They Claimed Tax Relief on, -WHICH is UNLAWFUL. If They Have to Pay That £100 MIL Tax, They'll Go Bust
Daily Mail 13 JAN 2024
HUNDREDS of Post Offices Were FORCIBLY CLOSED
KEY POINTS;
The Then PM Tony Blair KNEW Horizon System Had Faults When it Was First Installed in 1987..And Did NOTHING
MP Ed Daveys' Brother Worked For Law Firm That Prosecuted Postmasters
Post Office Investigator used threat of jail to persuade accused to keep quiet about Horizon failings
-- Named 'MAFIA' Investigator Stephen Bradshaw admits lawyers offered lesser charges as part of companys’ efforts to protect its court cases
Post Office owner says Horizon system was used to frame him for wifes’ murder. Robin Garbutt hopes for fresh appeal against conviction that came after jury heard evidence using data from discredited IT system
Gareth Jenkins, Architect of Post Office Scandal, Demands Immunity Before Agreeing to Appear at The Public Inquiry.
The architect of the faulty Horizon IT system, who gave evidence used to convict sub-postmasters, has demanded immunity before agreeing to appear at the public inquiry.
Gareth Jenkins, who is understood to have been instrumental in developing the software as a senior computer engineer at Fujitsu, is under police investigation over his role in the Post Office scandal. His testimony given in court cases that the Fujitsu IT system was working correctly was central to convictions and repeatedly used by Post Office lawyers.
Tracked down by The Telegraph to his home in Berkshire, Mr Jenkins, 69, said, when asked if he was sorry for what had happened: “I don’t want to talk. I don’t have anything to say to you.”
Cannot be Used Against Him
Mr Jenkins has twice sought a guarantee that any testimony he gives to the inquiry cannot be used against him in any possible prosecution and his testimony has also been delayed twice.
On Tuesday, Paula Vennells, the former Post Office chief executive who presided over the scandal, said she was handing back her CBE and she was “truly sorry for the devastation” wreaked on sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted and convicted. It also emerged that in 2017 she was considered for the role of Bishop of London.
Mrs Vennells said in a statement: “I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
“I am, however, aware of the calls from sub-postmasters and others to return my CBE. I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.”
Adam Crozier, the CEO of Royal Mail between 2003 and 2010 when it owned the Post Office, also issued a statement saying he felt “deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened” but denied any involvement.
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader who was the Post Office minister at the time, is now under pressure to return his knighthood.
Prosecutions Brought by The CPS
The Telegraph can also disclose that at least 27 prosecutions were brought by the Crown Prosecution service – as opposed to the Post Office – raising serious questions about whether Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, oversaw a number of wrongful convictions during his five-year tenure as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
Mr Jenkins had been due to give evidence to the public inquiry twice. But in each occasion it was postponed including as recently as November 2023, when the Post Office disclosed 3,045 documents on the evening before he was due to give evidence. Sources have speculated that the release of the documents was timed to prevent Mr Jenkins giving evidence.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed last week it was investigating “matters concerning Fujitsu Horizon and the Post Office… into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice”. The Met also announced it was investigating “potential fraud offences” as a result of the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters. That includes an allegation the Post Office boosted its profits by recovering money from sub-postmasters falsely dragged through the criminal or civil courts.
The Telegraph understands that Mr Jenkins, who was chief Horizon architect at Fujitsu, told investigators as early as 2012 that the IT system designed for the Post Office could be accessed remotely by Fujitsu at its headquarters in Bracknell, Berks. But it would take until 2019 for the Post Office to admit that sub-postmasters’ computer systems could be accessed remotely, blowing a hole in the key prosecution argument that the system could not be tampered with and was failsafe.
Ian Henderson, a director of Second Sight, a forensic accountancy firm that first highlighted the unsafe convictions, told the BBC on Tuesday: “We were able to identify that there were bugs and defects in the Horizon system. This was disclosed to the Post Office by Fujitsu itself.
“I visited Fujitsu in September 2012 and met with the senior technical engineer and had a very detailed meeting looking at how they operated, what the problems were. It was at that meeting that Fujitsu disclosed to me that they routinely used remote access to branch terminals for troubleshooting purposes.”
The Telegraph has been told the senior engineer who briefed the Second Sight team was Mr Jenkins. Prosecutions were not halted until 2015.
Taxpayer Shouldn’t Have To Fund Compensation
My Family Was ‘Abused’ in Post Office 0rdeal | Former sub-postmaster
'62 Postmasters Have Been MURDERED by The Post Office'
Who will get compensation from the Post Office scandal - and how much?
re: HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
Japanese IT Firm Fujitsu Boss Apologises For Post Office Horizon Postmasters SCANDAL: They MUST PAY
Post Office Paid Fujitsu £95MIL to Extend Horizon
BBC 17 JAN 2024
Boss of Fujitsu has apologised to subpostmasters and said there is a “moral obligation” for the technology giant to contribute to the compensation.
Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson faced a grilling by MPs on Tuesday alongside Post Office boss Nick Read, as public and political anger continues over the Horizon scandal.
The role played by the Japanese firm has come under the spotlight, with Mr Patterson opening the hearing by offering an apology for the “appalling miscarriage of justice” suffered by postmasters.
“We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry,” he told the Business and Trade Committee.”
Days after an ITV drama, 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' on the scandal prompted outcry, Rishi Sunak announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take more serious action.
Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered £75,000 to subpostmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.
Lawyers have said that hundreds more victims could now come forward after being caught up in the scandal.
But campaigners, including former subpostmaster Alan Bates who was at the centre of the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, on Tuesday hit out at the “madness” of delays at processing compensation claims.
Mr Patterson, who has has been in his current role since 2019 but has worked at the firm for more than a decade, told MPs that there was a “moral obligation for the company to contribute” to compensation.
“It’s also important that the inquiry deals with these very complex matters,” he said.
“In that context, absolutely we have a part to play and to contribute to the redress, I think is the words that Mr Bates used, the redress fund for the subpostmasters.”
Mr Read, who took charge of the Post Office in September 2019, insisted the organisation has now drastically changed.
He blamed a “culture of denial” for the company dragging its feet on compensation, as he also appeared to concede the Post Office could ultimately face liabilities from the scandal of close to £1 billion.
Appearing before the same committee as former boss Paula Vennells did in 2015, he also told MPs he had not “seen any evidence” that executives misled ministers, the courts or Parliament at any stage.
The scandal has seen calls for the Post Office to be stripped of its private prosecution powers.
But Mr Read has said he does not think that the organisation will perform any more private prosecutions in the future.
“I’ve been very clear on my watch they won’t and I see no reason why they should continue to do so,” he told MPs.
But MPs criticised the two bosses for failing to offer sufficient clarity to the committee.
You’ve not been able to supply the committee with key events in the timeline, such as when the Post Office first knew that remote access was possible
Committee chairman Liam Byrne
Business and Trade Committee chairman Liam Byrne said he had been “fairly shocked” by the evidence.
“You’ve not been able to supply the committee with key events in the timeline, such as when the Post Office first knew that remote access was possible.
“You’ve told us that you haven’t kept evidence safe about what money was paid to you inappropriately and, therefore, is owed back.
“And you can’t estimate the scale of compensation,” Mr Byrne told the executives.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake, who took questions from MPs as the evidence session drew to a close, welcomed the compensation commitment from Fujitsu.
He said that any money from the firm should be used to reimburse the taxpayer over the cost of compensation, which he said was likely to run “north of a billion pounds”.
Earlier Mr Bates told MPs that compensation was “bogged down” and the pace of processing claims was “madness”.
I think it was 53 days before they asked three very simple questions. It’s madness, the whole thing is madness
Campaigner Alan Bates
He said his own compensation process was beset with delays.
“I think it was 53 days before they asked three very simple questions. It’s madness, the whole thing is madness. And there’s no transparency behind it, which is even more frustrating. We do not know what’s happening to these cases once they disappear in there.”
Mr Bates appeared before MPs alongside wrongfully convicted former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton, who also described frustrations with the pace of compensation payouts.
Solicitor Neil Hudgell echoed those concerns during his stint in front of MPs, telling the committee only three of his former subpostmaster clients who had been criminally convicted had received compensation.
Lord Arbuthnot, a member of the Horizon compensation advisory board and a long-time campaigner on the issue, said he wanted the redress process finalised by the end of the year.
The Horizon scandal saw more than 700 subpostmasters and subpostmistresses handed criminal convictions after Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon software made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
The Government has been scrambling to exonerate them and pay out compensation to those affected.
re: HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
Post Office Had SECRET Plan to Sack Team Who Found JAPS' Horizon Bugs
Post Office plan to sack Horizon IT reviewer kept secret, documents reveal
BBC 26 JAN 2024
Documents showing Post Office top bosses secretly decided in April 2014 to sack forensic accountants who had found bugs in their IT system have been obtained by the BBC.
A Post Office board sub-committee, codenamed "Project Sparrow", took the decision with the full knowledge of the government.
Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates said it was further proof of a "total cover-up".
The Post Office declined to comment.
The independent forensic accountants Second Sight played a key role in exposing the scandal, finding flaws in the Horizon computer system which generated false evidence of cash shortfalls at sub-post offices, leading to wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters.
Post Office bosses kept insisting their systems were robust.
But they made a concession following pressure from MPs, offering to set up a mediation scheme to deal with what they said was a small number of cases.
The documents reveal the Post Office planned to pay a total of only £1m in "token payments", or compensation, to sub-postmasters as it suppressed evidence of computer bugs in 2014.
But it was a vast underestimation of the eventual cost of the scandal, which is now expected to be more than £1bn.
Details of the Project Sparrow discussions were not disclosed in evidence to sub-postmasters as they challenged the Post Office through the courts in 2017-2019.
"It's been a cover-up from start to finish," said Alan Bates. "That's coming out now. It's undeniable.
"And this is what we've been up against all the way. We've always known they were covering up - it's just been very difficult to find proof," he added.
The secret plan to sack Second Sight is revealed in the minutes of two Project Sparrow meetings in April 2014.
The minutes were released in heavily redacted form in 2021 after former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells disclosed the existence of Project Sparrow.
Now the BBC has obtained the unredacted minutes, showing what the Post Office didn't want the public to see.
re: HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
Post Office Chairman Henry Staunton SACKED by Government as Fury Over Horizon Scandal Continues to Grow
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch hints there could be MORE sackings at the Post Office after boss Henry Staunton was ousted 'amid row over compensation scheme for wrongly accused ex-postmasters'
MailOnline 29 JAN 2024
Kemi Badenoch has hinted there could be more sackings at the Post Office after former chairman Henry Staunton was sacked following a row with the government over the Horizon scandal.
Mr Staunton, who had been in the £150,000-a-year-role for a little over a year, received a call from the Business Secretary yesterday afternoon in which she told him he would be replaced.
They agreed to 'part ways with mutual consent' and an interim will be appointed 'shortly', the Department for Business and Trade said.
Ms Badenoch has not ruled out more people being removed from their jobs at the scandal-hit Post Office.
Asked on Sky's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips whether there will be further resignations from the board of directors, she said: 'I won't be making any further comments around personnel changes. I think we need to do this in a civilised way.'
There had been tension between Mr Staunton and the government over plans to force through legislation to compensate the wrongly convicted sub-postmasters quickly, The Sun reports.
Hundreds of subpostmasters are awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
Ms Badenoch said today: 'It just wasn't working' when asked why Henry Staunton could not carry on as chairman of the Post Office.
Speaking to BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme and asked about what her concerns were over Mr Staunton as chairman of the Post Office, Ms Badenoch said in taking up her role she was focused on three things: 'get the money out of the door', 'making sure that it was fair', and 'looking at the governance around the Post Office'.
On the latter, she said: 'That is where my deciding that we needed a new chair of the organisation was important. It just wasn't working.'
She added: 'There were various disagreements within the board. And when I looked at it I thought that a change of personnel was what was required.
'I don't want to do HR on live TV, these are human beings that we're talking about. It is very difficult to be asked to stand down from a position.
'But I decided that given all of the difficulties the Post Office is having, it's not just about Horizon, it's about the entire business model, how we make it work, that we needed someone who could chair a board that was able to deal with these things effectively.'
re: HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
Fujitsu WON £1.4BIL in NEW Government Contracts AFTER Court Ruling on Post Office Software Bugs
MPs find Treasury-affiliated bodies have engaged Horizon firm since damning 2019 high court judgment
The Guardian 12 FEB 2024
The Japanese technology company Fujitsu, whose flawed technology for the Post Office led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters, is confirmed to have held contracts worth more than £3.4bn linked to the Treasury since 2019.
Figures published by the Commons’ treasury committee show £1.4bn of contracts were awarded to Treasury-affiliated organisations after a high court ruling in December 2019 over the company’s software. The judgment found that “bugs, errors and defects” in Fujitsu’s Horizon system could cause shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts.
More than £2bn of contracts were awarded before the judgment. These contracts continued after the ruling, but some have since concluded.
Fujitsu informed the Cabinet Office in January that it would not bid for UK public contracts pending the conclusion of the public inquiry into the Post Office scandal.
The treasury committee last month wrote to organisations including HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) to demand details of their agreements with Fujitsu. The committee found all three had held contracts with Fujitsu Services or its global-owned entities.
HMRC awarded Fujitsu contracts worth more than £2.8bn which were active during or after the high court ruling in 2019. It now holds about £1.4bn of active contracts.
The FCA agreed contracts of £630m over the relevant period, but now only maintains agreements with the company or global-owned entities worth just over £9m. The BoE only had one contract in the relevant period, worth more than £417,000. It expired in August 2020.
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted after Fujitsu’s accounting software made it look as though money had gone missing from their shops. The technology failures led to one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in modern legal history.
Harriett Baldwin, chair of the treasury committee, said: “We have unearthed some information which, I believe, goes beyond what is known by the Cabinet Office. I hope this will aid transparency and scrutiny around the role of Fujitsu as a public sector supplier.
“The inquiry will run its course, and it is welcome news that Fujitsu have agreed to pay towards the compensation that wrongly convicted postmasters are receiving.”
Scrutiny of the Post Office and Fujitsu has intensified since the broadcast of the ITV series last month of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which prompted national outrage.
The government has announced that innocent post office operators who were wrongfully convicted due to the Horizon scandal will have their names cleared under new laws which it says will overturn hundreds of convictions.
Re: Post Office CEO; Govt Told Him Delay Postmasters Compensation Until After Electio
Ex-Post Office CEO Claims Government Told Him to Delay Compensation For Postmasters Until After Election
The Government has flatly denied claims by the former Post Office chairman that he was told to 'stall' on compensation ahead of the general election.
The Guardian 18 FEB 2024
Former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton claimed he was told to 'stall' on compensation ahead of the general election
There has been a national wave of anger about the scandal since postmasters' long fight for justice was highlighted by a major ITV drama
HUNDREDS of Post Offices Were FORCIBLY CLOSED
Henry Staunton left the role last month after Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch insisted 'new leadership' was needed to tackle fallout from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of postmasters wrongfully prosecuted.
Mr Staunton, who took up the role in December 2022 following nine years as chairman of WH Smith, suggested that Whitehall wanted to hold back spending ahead of the election.
He told the Sunday Times: 'Early on, I was told by a fairly senior person to stall on spend on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon, and to limp, in quotation marks – I did a file note on it – limp into the election.
'It was not an anti-postmaster thing, it was just straight financials. I didn't ask, because I said ''I'm having no part of it – I'm not here to limp into the election, it's not the right thing to do by postmasters''.
'The word ''limp'' gives you a snapshot of where they were.'
There has been a national wave of anger about the scandal since postmasters' long fight for justice was highlighted by a major ITV drama.
A Government spokesman said: 'We utterly refute these allegations.
'The Government has sped up compensation to victims, and consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims.
'To suggest any actions or conversations happened to the contrary is incorrect. In fact, upon appointment, Mr Staunton was set concrete objectives, in writing, to focus on reaching settlements with claimants – clear evidence of the Government's intent.
'The Secretary of State asked Henry Staunton to step down as chairman of the Post Office because a change in leadership was needed.'
More than 700 branch managers were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.
Hundreds of subpostmasters and subpostmistresses are still awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
Rishi Sunak also announced blanket legislation to exonerate those wrongly prosecuted in the wake of public outcry.
Mr Staunton left the role last month after Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch (pictured) insisted 'new leadership' was needed to tackle fallout from the Horizon IT scandal
HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Giving Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
---Post Office would do 'anything to hide Horizon failures' - Alan Bates
Former Post Office Boss Paula Vennells Refused to Answer Questions Whether She Knowingly LIED to MPs About Post Office Scandal Amid Evidence of Cover-Up
BBC News 9 APR 2024
Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Inquiry
Bates founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court over the scandal.
Former chief executive Paula Vennells, who led the Post Office at the height of the scandal, will face the inquiry in late May.
Alans' story recently became the subject of an ITV drama titled Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones.
Glitches in the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office meant money looked as if it was missing from many branch accounts, when in fact it was not.
The scandal, which was ongoing from 1999 until 2015, represents one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK legal history and more than 100 subpostmasters have had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Mr Bates gave evidence to the Business and Trade Committee in February where he urged the Government to “get on and pay people” while describing the Post Office as a “dead duck”.
The inquiry is now entering phases five and six, which will look at governance, redress and how the Post Office and others responded.
Other prominent witnesses soon to give evidence include Lord Arbuthnot, member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board and former MP for North East Hampshire, who campaigned for years on behalf of subpostmasters.
Former chief executive Paula Vennells, who led the Post Office at the height of the scandal, will face the inquiry in late May.
Ms Vennells, who led Post Office Ltd between 2012 and 2019, has come under fire over why hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted for fraud and false accounting under her watch.
Vennells, who joined the Post Office in 2007, handed back her CBE for services to the Post Office and to charity, after the screening of ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office and ensuing public anger.
She told the PA news agency in a statement that she would “support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry”.
She added: “I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
“I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded.”
Angela van den Bogerd, former Post Office head of partnerships, Adam Crozier, who was chief executive of Royal Mail from February 2003 to 2010, and Dame Moya Greene, who replaced him and left in 2018, will all give evidence.
Conservative ministers who will be questioned over their role as the scandal developed include Greg Clark, business secretary from 2016-2019, Kelly Tolhurst, postal services minister from July 2018 to February 2020, Margot James, who held the role between July 2016 and January 2018, and Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe, who was postal affairs minister in 2015.
LIVE: Alan Bates gives evidence at Post Office Horizon IT inquiry
HERO Postmaster Alan Bates Gives Evidence At Post Office Scandal Inquiry
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