Whitewash inc.

Hello

I have finally got round to watching and reading the transcript of the first (and so far only) oral evidence session to be posted up on the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry website. I started writing about it just for this newsletter, but the post got so long I turned it into a Post Office Trial article. It’s where the “I hate them” quote in the subject line of this morning’s secret email comes from. If you’re in the mood, compare and contrast what I wrote with Vanessa Allen’s take on the same session for the Daily Mail.

Alan Bates speaks

Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, has given his members an update, which suggests these cold winter months are the calm before, well, if not a storm, an increase in campaigning activity.

His circular also uses the word “whitewash” to describe the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, set up by the govt’s Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department, five times!

One new thing Mr Bates had to tell his members is that Howe and Co, a legal firm which was involved in helping 61 applicants write their reports for the Post Office Complaint and Mediation scheme back in 2013 (remember that?), has now “offered to undertake some lobbying” on the JFSA’s behalf “with the aim of having the current BEIS whitewash review halted and replaced with the statutory inquiry.”

Howe are no fans of the Post Office’s processes or business practices. For instance, their written submission to the 2015 BIS (as was) Select Committee inquiry into the Post Office noted the people who go round doing branch audits are quite special:

“Instead of performing a real audit, POL’s ‘auditors’ simply assume that the balances on Horizon are correct, compare them with those in the branch and prosecute the sub postmasters if the balances in the branch are less than those on Horizon. Hence, in reality no vouching of transactions whatsoever is undertaken by POL’s ‘auditors’. Using the term ‘audit’ to describe POL’s intervention in the branches gives its actions a veneer of professionalism and depth of analysis which is in fact entirely absent.”

If the Post Office had listened to organisations like Howe and Co in 2015 it might have saved the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds. It decided not to, and precisely no one has got into trouble for it. Trebles all round.

Howe and Co’s latest tilt is a letter to the Prime Minister, which according to Mr Bates, points out, among other issues:

“the incongruity of BEIS setting the scope and terms of the BEIS whitewash when BEIS is the department at fault.”

Hopefully this will get interesting.

New Horizon error

Current Horizon, which the Post Office is very keen to point out, is more robust than it used to be (actual High Court determination: “relatively robust”), is currently suffering an ongoing receipt and payments mismatch error due to a dodgy IT update. On Friday a note started doing the rounds to certain Subpostmasters stating:

“Good afternoon. I have been asked as a matter of urgency to let you know the following: We currently have a major bridge [sic] incident underway for a banking product rollout this has impacted a number of branches at the moment and we need a communication issued out to all branches as priority to prevent further branches being impacted. Under no circumstances should the branches attempt to rollover stock units or branch rollovers.”

As one Subpostmaster on a facebook forum wondered:

“A banking product rollout that we know nothing about. What product? What are the implications if we do rollover a SU or the Branch ? What the hell is going on with the Memoview system? Isn’t that what it’s there for alerting the Network to urgent information?”

On the Post Office’s Memoview system, the following message appeared:

‘’We are aware of an issue which may result in a mismatch on receipts and payments when you attempt to produce a stock unit or office rollover at this current time. We are working with are suppliers to resolve this as a high priority and will provide you with further information as soon as this is available. We are sorry for this inconvenience this will cause you and your customers.‘’

Holy Moly, what was going on?!

There came a bit more detail today, as another memo did the rounds, telling Subpostmasters:

“The issue has been investigated and whilst we believe it has been resolved we are still investigating the impact on any branch that completed any of these transactions on Friday 12 February so would ask you to not complete a stock unit or branch rollover at this time.”

Glad that’s all sort-of cleared up, then. Well, fingers crossed it is.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who keeps forwarding me documents and information. I can’t name you, but you know who you are. Without help from the hundreds of secret emailers who get this newsletter, I would not have eyes on half the stuff I do. I don’t get the JFSA circulars and I am not on any Subpostmaster forums. I rely on you for information – whether it’s coming from the Post Office, CCRC, MPs, lawyers, NFSP, CWU, the courts, whatever. Please do keep sending it to me – nick@nickwallis.com – your anonymity is both lovingly cherished and painstakingly preserved.

Back sooner than last time, I promise – and possibly with some exciting book news.

Have a good rest of the week.

Nick