Tracking down Thomson

Good morning

I’m writing to you from the glamorous environs of a Premier Inn hotel room in Lichfield, promising myself a slap-up breakfast when, but only when, I have finished this newsletter.

First things first. The actions or inaction of the National Federation of Subpostmasters during the Post Office Horizon scandal has long been a source of interest to me. I’ve written about it before and we dedicated an episode of The Great Post Office Trial to the matter in 2020.

Last Wednesday we managed to put a televisual spotlight on the subject with a special report on the ITV Evening News. You can watch it on YouTube here.

The former General Secretary of the NFSP has repeatedly refused to respond to any interview requests I have made in the past. This time we went to find him, which, as you can see from the picture above, we did.

I really hope this starts a debate about the NFSP. I sat on stage last night with Harjinder Butoy, who told me that after he was arrested by the police (on instruction from Post Office investigators), Harjinder appealed to his union for help. He told the audience they returned his subs and left him to deal with his nightmare alone.

Live dates

The last three days have been a combination of good fun and hard work. On Friday, I interviewed Second Sight investigator Ian Henderson, legal ethicist Professor Richard Moorhead and former Subpostmaster Wendy Buffrey at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

All three are excellent speakers with superb insight into the scandal. Wendy had the audience spellbound and at the end of the session she was given a standing ovation.

It was quite something to witness and it set a pattern for the weekend. Wendy is speaking at a number of events I’m doing over the next few weeks. If they’re anywhere near you (check here) and you can make it, please do come along.

Lyme Regis – Tracey Merritt

After lunch on Friday I drove three hours to Devon to prep for the first event proper on the Post Office Scandal tour (the Sheldonian panel was assembled for the Oxford Literary Festival) in Lyme Regis.

Having spent most of the week putting together the ITV News piece on the NFSP, my talk for Lyme Regis only existed at that point in my head. I had various bits of footage downloaded to my computer, but I hadn’t edited it or worked out exactly how it would hang together.

I got to the Honiton Premier Inn and spent eight hours with a wet towel round my head teaching myself Final Cut Pro and trying to work out how I would be able to deliver something reasonably compelling and to time. I have learned that presenting to time is just as essential in live events as it is in broadcasting.

Once it was sorted I drove down into Lyme Regis to the Marine Theatre where I met up with former Yetminster Subpostmaster Tracey Merritt, who I hadn’t seen since the High Court settlement in 2019.

Tracey has recently given a couple of interviews about the Post Office and what those ******** did to her relationship with her children whilst she was under threat of prosecution. She kindly opened up about it to the audience over twenty minutes on stage, and you could have heard a pin drop as she spoke. I have known Tracey for more than ten years, but this was the first time I’d heard some of the details of what she went through, and it’s those details which punch you in the gut.

The photo of Tracey above is taken at the end of the afternoon. I hope it makes for a lovely souvenir for Tracey and everyone who came along. It was also great to meet Peter Bell, who made a four-hour round trip along the coast by bus to come and see us. Peter is the curator of an incredibly useful resource – the Post Office Scandal google map. Do check it out if you want to see the geographic spread of this disaster.

Finally – Lyme Regis is beautiful, but, my goodness, the traffic… even in March.

Lichfield – Harjinder Butoy

Yesterday I drove the Atomic Potato another three hours up the motorway to Lichfield where I met with Harjinder Butoy, his lovely wife Bal and cousin Manjit. Harjinder had driven from his home town of Chesterfield and confessed to being quite nervous about sharing his story to a live audience. He needn’t have worried.

I had no idea Harjinder was so young when he was arrested (on the instruction of a Post Office investigator) with an alleged (in fact, phantom) discrepancy of £206,000 and his life was ruined. His Post Office was taken from him in 2007 when he was in his late twenties and he was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty at a jury trial, adjourned four times because the Post Office refused to disclose important information to Harjinder’s defence team.

Harjinder hasn’t been able to work since. He was bankrupted and had been trying to prove his innocence outside of the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance group, something he finally managed to do on 23 April 2021.

Of course, whilst he’s fighting for compensation the government lawyers want to know why he hasn’t been able to work since his conviction, which suggests they still have no idea how much damage they’ve done to the people they destroyed.

My thanks to Harjinder, Bal, Manjit and everyone in Lichfield who came out on a Sunday night. Also profound thanks to LP Creatives’ Tom and Ritchie who are producing this tour. The amount of effort they put into into making these events happen smoothly and successfully is humbling.

Our next date is at the Darlington Hippodrome on Friday 12 April, which is a whopping 980-seat theatre.

The fabulous Lee Castleton will be there as will the mysterious “Clint” who worked at Fujitsu and who gave me an interview for my book. Clint has agreed to come on stage and reveal his identity. It is the only date we have in the North East. If you can make it please come along. As I said, it’s a big theatre, but I’m hoping it will be a really special night.

Operation Monster

By the time we get to Darlington, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry will have returned to Aldwych House in London for its monster new sitting, which combines Phases 5 and 6 together. Altogether 68 witnesses are scheduled to give evidence from 9 April through to 31 July. Having looked at them all, I think I am most intrigued by what that keeper of secrets, Susan Crichton has to say. She was the Post Office’s general counsel, she got Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson into the building and then she disappeared when Ron and Ian started to uncover things her client (the Post Office) didn’t like.

I have applied to be in the hearing room for every date I am not on tour (and at my brother’s wedding, which unfortunately coincides with the final day of Paula Vennells’ evidence*). During those sessions I will crank up the blog and provide you with as much information as I can about what is coming out of the hearing room. Obviously when I’m not at the hearings I can follow from afar and insert each new revelation into that evening’s theatre talk.

Other news

Horizon scandal damages may top £1bn – minister says he doesn’t care how much it costs – BBC

Subpostmaster calls for investigation into legal fees paid by £58m Horizon fund – Daily Telegraph

Post Office Capture victims to hold talks with Government over second IT scandal – The i newspaper

Horizon scandal ‘hitting post office recruitment’ – BBC

Fujitsu to shutter operations in Republic of Ireland In wake of Post Office Horizon scandal, global execs set new profit target, and Irish ops fell short – The Register

Ex-postmaster grateful for £19K compensation after Horizon scandal – Daily Gazette and Essex County Standard

Barrister in the spotlight for Post Office errors – RollOnFriday

Frustration over compensation – BBC

My thanks as ever to Paul McGuire for helping me collate these headlines.

Back in April

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to this newsletter over the last three months. It’s great to have you on board, just as it was lovely to meet someone in Lichfield last night who signed up to the newsletter during my first round of crowdfunding in 2018. It is a real privilege to be able to continue reporting this story.

I’m taking my first break since the drama went out at the end of the month and I’m unlikely to get another newsletter out before then. I’ll therefore be back in the saddle to preview Alan Bates’ appearance at the Inquiry on 9 April. It should be quite the curtain-raiser.

Please do keep your correspondence coming and thanks once more for your support. I’ll leave you with the picture below, taken by KT Bruce from inside the Sheldonian Theatre as the session with Ian, Richard and Wendy was taking place.

Keep well and be good!

Nick

* I have been considering experimenting with a hidden earpiece to keep across what’s happening at the Inquiry as the hymns are being sung and vows are being read, but I’m coming to terms with accepting that I’m going to have to give it all a miss. The inquiry session, that is.

Post Office Scandal – The Inside Story

In April and May 2024, I’ll be visiting various theatres in towns around England in the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, County Durham, Dorset, East Sussex, Devon, Cornwall, Essex, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Hertfordshire, and Surrey, including my home town of Walton on Thames.

At each venue I’ll be joined by a former Subpostmaster (apart from Walton when Second Sight’s Ian Henderson will be in the chair). There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and learn even more about the scandal.

All the dates and box office links are here. Please do have a look, see if there’s a venue near you, and if you fancy it, book a couple of tickets. Please also feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends who may live near a venue!

I’ll be around after each show in the foyer or bar and look forward to saying hello if you can make it.