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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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We’re All Going On A Walk
Read More…: We’re All Going On A WalkIan Fagelson does London walks. Ian is a lawyer who I met for the first time at my book launch. Ian has been ridiculously helpful with his advice on how to set up a charity, and did an awful lot of work (pro bono) in getting the Horizon Scandal Fund registered with the Charities Commission. Ian has asked for nothing in return, other than strong-arming me into joining him on a guided walk round central London. The walk is call called Postman’s Park: The Crime and Punishment Tour. We meet on Thursday 29 September at St Paul’s Churchyard in the…
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Eleanor’s Letter
Read More…: Eleanor’s LetterEleanor has spent many hours putting together serious and important research on what the Post Office and the government has been up to over the last 25 years with regard to the Horizon computer system. Recently, her precision-guided and relentless Freedom of Information requests grubbed up the Swift Review. This is a document so concerning that Richard Moorhead, professor of legal ethics at the University of Exeter, has so far devoted four (and counting) blog posts to fisking it. Eleanor Shaikh (pictured) is a force of nature. She is a selfless, committed campaigner who has worked tirelessly to support her…
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Press Release: Horizon Scandal Fund celebrates charitable status with substantial donation
Read More…: Press Release: Horizon Scandal Fund celebrates charitable status with substantial donationFor immediate release – 22 September 2022 The Horizon Scandal Fund is delighted to have received registered charitable status ten months after its launch. The Fund is celebrating the occasion by formally welcoming a substantial donation made by Flora Page, one of the barristers who represented three subpostmasters in their successful quest to overturn their criminal convictions at the Court of Appeal last year. Flora has donated her net fees of £3256 for working on the case to the Horizon Scandal Fund. The Horizon Scandal Fund supports Subpostmasters who are struggling financially, emotionally and physically as a result of the…
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The Compensation Catch
Read More…: The Compensation CatchLast week Alan Bates stunned a small, but significant number of members of the Justice for Subpostmasters’ Alliance with a circular sent out on 12 September. The members concerned are a sub-group of the 555 claimants in Bates v Post Office who have what the government are terming ‘complex’ situations. There are about 100 of them. Some became mentally incapacitated before arranging lasting power of attorney (LPA), some are sadly dead, and the probate on their estate has not been sorted. Others are insolvent or bankrupt. Bates told this latter group ‘the stumbling block then, as it is now, is…
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