plus: CP closing statements put the boot in

Hi

The inquiry has today published its list of witnesses for Phases 5 and 6. Many of the people with serious questions to answer, including Brian Altman KC, Chris Aujard, Lord Grabiner, Jo Swinson, Alwen Lyons OBE, Alice Perkins, Angela van den Bogerd and Paula Vennells are being called.

Prof Richard Moorhead has written at length about Altman’s work for the Post Office and I wrote a couple of blog posts in 2020 about the Post Office cover-up. All the people I mentioned in those blog posts are giving oral evidence.

One text I received from a learned KC shortly after the above list was published contained just two words: “No Neuberger”.

Lord Neuberger is the former President of the Supreme Court who was consulted (in some capacity) by Lord Grabiner whilst the Post Office was considering its recusal attempt. I suspect the thinking is that “Grabs”, as he’s known, can tell the Inquiry about his meeting with Neuberger, but I suspect that will not be able to tell us exactly what Neuberger was thinking when he gave his advice.

You can read more about the personnel involved in the recusal episode here.

Phase 4 concludes

Alongside the closing statements made to the Inquiry today, there was a huge document dump of witness statements, which have been published on the Inquiry website.

Tim Moloney KC, representing Hudgells’ Subpostmasters, and Sam Stein KC, representing Howe and Co’s Subpostmasters both spoke today.

Moloney called the decisions taken by Post Office staff, revealed over the course of Phase 4 of the Inquiry, “at best, shameful” and suggested some of those who gave evidence should be subjected to “rigourous criminal investigation”.

Sam Stein KC (pictured) said Phase 4 had “pulled back the curtain” on the “Great Post Office cock-up and cover-up”. He described the Post Office “bullying” investigators and its wider staff’s “disdain and dislike” of Subpostmasters.

The transcript of today’s session is not yet available, but you can watch the video of it here on youtube. It’s powerful stuff.

Bates dismisses derisory offer

Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (pictured), has called his offer of compensation by the government “cruel” and “derisory”.

This was front page news in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph and something of a scoop.

Unfortunately, to illustrate their piece, the Telegraph used an image I took of Mr Bates in 2018 without my permission.

After an exchange of emails this morning, I am delighted to tell you that The Telegraph has now secured my retrospective permission to use the image in return for a significant payment, which I will be donating, on receipt, directly to the Horizon Scandal Fund.

Incidentally, we had our first Horizon Scandal Fund trustees meeting last night since the ITV drama aired at the beginning of last month. We have taken on a volunteer called Hilary who has done a wonderful job of working with the increasing number of people who have contacted us in need, some of whom have been suffering in silence for years. We’re getting together a better workflow and streamlining our decision-making processes so we can help people more effectively, and I am deeply grateful to the Fund’s trustees who have worked so hard over the last month whilst I have been awol trying to deal with the increased attention this story has been getting.

Part 2 of the Marshall Compensation Letter

I have just published another blog post which sets out the compensation scandal in more detail, this time focusing on the failure to offer guaranteed interim payments to Subpostmasters who fall under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) or the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO) – the vast majority of claimants. Have a read here.

Everything’s gone Green

Patrick Green KC has done a well-produced law and politics podcast called “Double Jeopardy” in the light of the ITV Drama.

This is a pretty deep dive into Green’s role as the claimants’ lead barrister in Bates v Post Office. Patrick doesn’t do much informal broadcast stuff, which makes this a fascinating behind-the-scenes listen.

More Post Office stuff in your super soaraway Private Eye

Private Eye this week is a great read, with several columns dedicated to the Post Office scandal. It was an absolute delight to welcome the Eye’s Richard Brooks onto TalkTV’s Today programme on Wednesday to take us through an extraordinary photograph he has obtained.

It is a shot featuring Paula Vennells (former CEO of the Post Office), Liz Truss (remember her?), Kevin Hollinrake (current Postal Affairs minister) and Simon Blagden, the Chairman of Fujitsu posing together in 2014 when the Post Office was going through what I call its Bat**** Denial Phase. Oh to be a fly on the wall with a secret recording device.

I would show you the photograph, but like an eejit I left my copy of the Eye in the TalkTV studio, so you’ll have to go and buy it yourself. Watch Richard, Rosie Wright and me talk it over here.

100th conviction quashed!

I popped along to the Inquiry yesterday to meet former Subpostmaster Chris Head for lunch. Whilst there I was informed three more Subpostmaster convictions had been overturned at the Court of Appeal.

Congratulations to Hudgells’ clients John Reynolds, Nilufar Ali and Davinder Bangay.

By my reckoning they are the 98th, 99th and 100th Subpostmaster convictions to be quashed. A significant day. I am told that none of the Subpostmasters wanted to give any interviews or do any media, hence the lack of publicity over the hearing.

Vipin down under

Vipin Patel, one of the first Subpostmasters to have his conviction quashed back in December 2020, has been intervieweed in an Australian feature by ABC News about the scandal along with Kevan Jones MP and Jason Coyne, the claimants’ IT expert in the Bates v Post Office litigation.

“I feel my life has been wasted”, Vipin says in the ABC piece “I’ve spent 37 years working with the Post Office or having difficulties for their actions, so I’m 70 years old – 37 years of my life gone without a meaningful reason for it.”

Vipin and his family are still waiting for compensation.

A Commons debate with a twist…

Finally – there’s going to be a general debate on “management culture of the Post Office” which will take place in the House of Commons chamber on Thursday next week.

The topic was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee and, according to the House of Commons library there will be a briefing pack made available in advance of the debate, on this page.

Thanks very much to all the new subscribers who have joined over the past couple of days. You’re all very welcome here. Apologies to everyone who has emailed me and has yet to receive a response.

My priority remains getting these newsletters out, so forgive me if you have a burning question which has not yet been answered.

Have a great weekend

Nick