What was Lord Neuberger thinking?

With apologies – I failed to put the right links to my big exclusive on Lord Neuberger in the last secret email. They have been changed in the email below so you can actually link through to the story this time. The rest of the email remains identical. Thanks to everyone who took the time to let me know. Sorry for bothering you twice in one day.

N

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Hello!

Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet recently, I have been holed up in a studio for six hours a day recording the audiobook version of The Great Post Office Scandal. It took seven days. The completed item is 18 hours long. It was recorded at the RNIB Talking Books studios in Camden in a deal cut between my publisher and my neighbour who has taken a keen interest in this story and who happens to work there. I am grateful to both, especially as it means we can give free copies of the audiobook to the RNIB.

My producer was the legendary Paul Pink, who not only was Westwood’s producer at Capital Radio, back in the day, but was also one of the original London Ravens American Football Team’s Defensive Linemen.

Pinks represented Great Britain at American Football on four occasions, including once when they played France in Walton on Thames, which is where I live. Funny old world, isn’t it?

Senior QC/judicial figure revealed

There has been some mystery about the senior QC/judicial figure who advised the Post Office on recusing the judge during the Bates v Post Office litigation. I have had it confirmed by the Post Office that it was none other than the former President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger.

Did anyone, including the Post Office or Neuberger really think Mr Justice Fraser was biased? Or was this application (described by the Court of Appeal as “misconceived” and “absurd”) just about trying to delay or even deny Subpostmasters justice?

I am not sure what this does for Lord Neuberger’s credibility, but I hope he will offer some kind of explanation as to the instruction he received and the advice he offered. More here.

The inquiry begins proper

On Monday, the Human Impact hearings of the Statutory Inquiry begin. There will be opening statements, and then Baljit Sethi, Jo Hamilton and Noel Thomas will be interviewed by the inquiry QC about their experiences.

Noel and Jo have been interviewed by the media hundreds of times, but this, I suspect, will be very different. Baljit Sethi and I have been in email contact since last year. I’m looking forward to meeting him.

You can watch proceedings here or wait for the transcripts to be posted up on the inquiry website. I will be going along, but given the hearings are available for anyone who wants to watch them I probably won’t be live-tweeting everything.

Attention Manchester

On Thursday next week (17 Feb) I am speaking at the University of Manchester at the launch of their Innocence Project. Anyone is welcome to come along. It is free to attend or watch online, and if you are a former Subpostmaster (or manager or assistant) who has been affected by the Horizon scandal, you would be a welcome and honoured guest.

Pete Murray, who took on the Hope Farm Road branch in Great Sutton (and suffered horrendous Horizon discrepancies like his predecessor, Martin Griffiths) will be joining me for a Q&A. If you potentially don’t mind getting up on stage with me and answering a few questions about your experiences too, please get in touch and let me know.

The more the merrier is perhaps not the correct phrase in these circumstances, but if there were three or four of us, I think it would demonstrate to the audience the range of experiences involved in this scandal.

I think the University will pay all expenses (including any overnight stays), so the only cost to you is your time. If it isn’t too much trouble and you aren’t too far away and want to come along, let me know by replying to this email. It would be great to see you.

Are the solicitors regulation authority formally investigating Post Office lawyers?

There was a kerfuffle last week as it became apparent the Solicitors Regulation Authority have asked the Post Office for various documents, which suggests they are having a good, hard look at the solicitors involved in the prosecution of Subpostmasters.

I spoke to someone who is reasonably close to this process and was told that “looking at” is very different to “investigating” and officially the SRA will not confirm there is a formal investigation until it has satisfied itself there are individuals involved with a case to answer. These semantic niceties have legal implications, apparently. The Law Gazette is calling it an investigation anyway.

Either way, the individuals under scrutiny are unlikely to be named until it gets to the point where things might be taken to a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. This, says my source, is likely to be at least two or three years away, if it ever happens. An SRA informal motto is apparently “thoroughly, not quickly”, which rather contrasts with the idea that “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Goodbye Tim Parker

Tim Parker is standing down from his part-time £20K role as chairman of the Post Office. I have been asked by a couple of people what I make of the timing of this announcement. All I can say is that I’m amazed he’s lasted this long. His departure should make no difference to the answers he may or may not give to the statutory inquiry and he seems to have made little or no difference to the culture or standing of the Post Office in the six or so years he’s been at the helm.

The only thing I would point out is that Ron Warmington told me, on the record, that he and Ian Henderson had a meeting with Tim Parker in December 2015 during which they told him everything they had uncovered whilst investigating the Post Office.

It seems that Parker took all this information on board and did precisely nothing with it, other than try to ensure it was buried during the Bates v Post Office litigation. Jonathan Swift QC, First Treasury Counsel (ie the government’s top lawyer) was the only other person present at that meeting.

Should Mr Parker ever be investigated for a criminal offence in relation to the Post Office Horizon Scandal, I hope the precise nature of what was discussed at that meeting is properly examined.

Horizon Scandal Fund

I am delighted to say that despite still waiting for HMRC approval and formal endorsement by the charities commission, the Horizon Scandal Fund has discharged its first two grants. The book sales are chugging along and we have had some very kind donations so we do have some cash. We are here to help and I am very much aware not everyone who has suffered at the Post Office’s hands is going to get full or timely compensation. If you hear of someone who needs money for anything (legal advice, forensic accounting, counselling, therapeutic activity etc) please encourage them to make an inquiry via the HSF website. I am deeply grateful to the team of people (many or all of whom I think are secret emailers) who have worked so hard to get the charity up and running. There are good people out there, and it is a privilege to know and work with them.

Thanks

Finally, hello and welcome to all the new secret emailers who have joined either by buying a book or making a direct donation to fund my journalism. I am deeply grateful. Please do get in touch by replying to this message if you have anything you want me to know. I am sorry that I cannot respond directly to every email or message I get, but I do read every one. Also please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in the scandal. If it persuades them to buy a book or join the ever growing band of well-informed people who are keeping an eye on this story, I would be thrilled.

Right I must go and watch Utd finish off Southampton – my team vs my grandad’s. Always a good fixture.

Very best

Nick

The Post Office Horizon scandal is available for £25 as a hardback and £8.99 for an ebook (or £30 for both) from Bath Publishing. Please click here to buy it. Alternatively, please do forward this email to a friend. Everyone who buys a copy of the book through Bath Publishing will automatically be invited to join the “secret” email list.