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Podcasting the Post Office scandal
Read More…: Podcasting the Post Office scandalWhen Rebecca suggested we do a podcast to cover the Inquiry, I thought it was a brilliant idea. I’m a broadcast journalist. I’ve done this sort of stuff before. What could be easier than just recording our thoughts at the end of a week and releasing them into the ether? Turns out producing a podcast is harder than it looks. And producing a good podcast is a lot harder than it looks. It’s been a learning curve for both of us. I’d like to think we’re getting there, but maybe we’re not. Either way – I think the last two…
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The ‘Shredding’ Advice
Read More…: The ‘Shredding’ AdviceLast week I published the first Clarke advice, which was effectively a THIS ENDS HERE. NOW document written by Simon Clarke, an external barrister working on Subpostmaster prosecutions To give context to the initial advice, I have updated that post with some (hopefully) helpful links. The Shredding Advice Shortly after writing his first advice, Mr Clarke was moved to write a second advice, when it came to his attention that measures put in place to attempt to start to rectify what had been going on with Post Office prosecutions were being subverted (by, as it turns out, the Post Office’s…
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False Accounts – the notices are in!
Read More…: False Accounts – the notices are in!It’s a very strange thing, the Post Office scandal. I know there are people still suffering horribly, and in silence, about what they went through. There are no laughs, or jokes, or good times for them. As someone not directly connected to what happened, there is a fear that if you ever use humour about any element of this disaster you are disrespecting those whose lives have been traduced and ruined. Nothing I have ever experienced comes remotely close to knowing what it is like to lose my business and reputation due to forces beyond my control – to be…
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Jenkins wants inquiry ‘immunity’
Read More…: Jenkins wants inquiry ‘immunity’Gareth Jenkins, the former Fujitsu engineer who has become a person of interest to the Metropolitan Police, has demanded certain assurances from the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry before he gives evidence. Jenkins, the subject of the first Clarke Advice and a spectre at the feast during the Bates v Post Office litigation wants an undertaking from the Attorney General that he will not be criminally prosecuted over any testimony he gives to the inquiry. This is not an unheard-of request. It was put to use recently in the ongoing Grenfell inquiry. If a potential witness asks for an ‘Attorney…
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The first Clarke Advice
Read More…: The first Clarke AdviceThe Clarke Advice was written by the barrister Simon Clarke (above) when he worked for Cartwright King in 2013. I’m not sure it is has been published in full before, so here it is: For context as to the importance of this advice, see: What’s in the 2013 Simon Clarke document? Oral submission to support the application to receive the Clarke advice Barrister quits over Clarke Advice order There’s plenty more to dig through on the Post Office Trial website, predecessor to this one. My book (if I might give that a plug) puts the advice, its fall-out, the subsequent…
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Nailing Sir Peter Fraser – the legal hit squad
Read More…: Nailing Sir Peter Fraser – the legal hit squadDuring the first week of phase two of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry we discovered more about Lord Neuberger’s involvement in the decision to ask Mr Justice Fraser to recuse (remove) himself as managing judge from the Bates v Post Office group litigation, something the Post Office recognised internally was “the nuclear option.” It’s a squalid little episode. In March 2019, Mr Justice Fraser had just produced his Common Issues judgment. It was the first document written by anyone in authority which recognised that the Subpostmaster claimants had been treated appallingly, and that they had a case. Over 1000…
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Brian out of the shadows
Read More…: Brian out of the shadowsBrian Altman KC advised the Post Office on the Horizon scandal from 2013 right up until 2021. He has, in his career, held the title of First Senior Treasury counsel – the most senior prosecution barrister in England. Brian Altman’s advice to the Post Office is privileged, which means that had the Post Office chosen not to reveal it, no court or Inquiry could demand it, unless there were exceptional circumstances. Thankfully, and presumably because it is in the public interest, the Post Office has agreed to waive privilege on all “relevant” documents pertaining to the scandal, and the Altman…
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Why was Horizon allowed to go live?
Read More…: Why was Horizon allowed to go live?In my book I interview someone who was parachuted into Fujitsu [or more specifically, its subsidiary ICL Pathway] into the late 90s to try to rescue the Horizon project. He couldn’t. I called my interlocutor Clint because he didn’t want me to use his real name, and there was something steely-eyed about him. Of the Horizon IT system, he told me ‘Everybody in the building by the time I got there knew it was a bag of shit. Everybody.’ Clint was involved in trying to work out what was going wrong and working out how to fix it. After looking…
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Crowdfunding the Inquiry
Read More…: Crowdfunding the InquiryRebecca Thomson and I have decided to try to crowdfund our coverage of the Post Office Horizon Inquiry, which re-starts open hearings this week. If you donate you will be subscribed to the “secret” email newsletter, written by me and sent out whenever something of interest is happening in this story. Your donation will allow me and Rebecca to report the scandal as best we are able. The more funding we get, the more we’ll be able to do. Our aspiration is to continue producing our self-funded weekly podcast, focusing on key moments of the Inquiry. If we get the…
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Post Office London Walk completed!
Read More…: Post Office London Walk completed!Thanks to everyone who kindly joined Ian Fagelson and the Bath Publishing team in his excellent Postman’s Park: Crime and Punishment walk around London. I took a break from writing about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard to join the 20+ crew last Thursday 29 September as we negotiated our way from the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, through Postman’s Park (by St Martins-le-Grand, the old Post Office HQ), eventually ending up in Charterhouse Square where the survivors photo was taken. The walk was exceptionally informative, and Ian (pictured with the red brolly) is a superb tour guide. Those who attended…
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