Good morning!

Hope you are doing okay. Yesterday we had the joys of two former Business Secretaries giving evidence to the Inquiry. I have written up my thoughts in:

Clark and Cable: Responsible for everything, accountable for nothing

… which I hope you find readable. It features a response from Lord Arbuthnot to Cable’s complaint that the campaigning MPs never went to see him about the scandal.

Cable and Clark’s evidence was also written up by The Guardian and the BBC Online team. I did a short hit for BBC Ulster yesterday afternoon and Times Radio this morning, but I am getting the feeling that the caravan is moving on.

Which brings me to…

The final phase of the Inquiry

Although nothing has yet been confirmed, I am told the next phase of the Inquiry will likely start around mid-September and will not finish until mid-November.

This is a recalibration of my previous hope that the final phase will start at the beginning of September and finish by the beginning of October.

If we’ve really got (at least) another two months to go, I need to tell you up front that I am not going to be able to cover the final phase with anything like the enthusiasm or endeavour I have reported on the current or previous phases.

Inquiry days, like trial days, are gruelling. The difference being trials are relatively short, and there is an end in sight. I’ve been covering this inquiry (on and off) for the best part of three years. Right now I don’t feel able to commit to covering the final phase.

I realise this might come as a disappointment to recent subscribers, especially. Don’t worry – I’ll still cover this story (and use this newsletter as an essential way of doing so) until there really is nothing left to write about, but I also need to start working on other stuff or I will go slightly mad.

Those of you who follow me on twitter will know I have been taking an interest in the gender wars and the reporting thereof. I suspect my interest in that will continue to ramp up, which will create demands on my time and resources.

But I will definitely attend the final phase of the inquiry if something or someone interesting is scheduled. Current Post Office CEO Nick Read and his General Counsel Ben Foat are both due to give evidence in the autumn. I’d like to hear from them again.

In fact I’m hoping the Inquiry Chair, Sir Wyn Williams, will set out the timescales and witnesses for the autumn phase of hearings pretty soon as it would be nice to know what’s going on.

Moorhead on Cooper

Prof Richard Moorhead (pictured) keeps banging out the substacks. His latest on Tom Cooper’s evidence to the Inquiry is illuminating, as ever. Cooper was the UKGI Post Office director who spotted the disaster coming, but failed to do much about it. Moorhead tries to analyse why.

It’s an interesting exercise in working out where the boundaries of personal and corporate culpability can begin and end when trying to operate without the benefit of hindsight.

Though, as I keep having to remind myself – bad things were staring the Post Office board in the face by 2016 and they responded badly, Cooper included.

Today and next week

This morning we’re going to hear again from Allan Leighton – former Royal Mail Group CEO (he gave evidence in April in full “I did not kno nuffink” mode). The afternoon session will be much more interesting: Martin Edwards, Paula Vennells’ former Chief of Staff is giving evidence.

During this phase of the Inquiry, we’ve seen Edwards’ name come up on quite a few emails during the early cover-up phase of the scandal. I hope he’s honest about what going on at the Post Office during that period – he was right in the thick of it.

Next week there are two days of Inquiry hearings – Monday and Tuesday. Then the summer break begins. Bearing in mind everything I’ve said above, I intend to be present for both days next week. Especially as I left my laptop charging cable in the hearing room yesterday and I need to retrieve it!

Have a great weekend. It’s my mum’s 80th birthday on Sunday, so we’re going for a weekend at my sister’s to celebrate. Whatever you’re up to – enjoy it. Life is a short and precious thing, and it’s (currently) not raining.

Best

Nick