Scully and civil servants face q’s too

Hello

A very happy, if currently dreary new year to you.

I was going to write a marathon secret email, but then I thought I’d turn it into a marathon blog post instead. It is ready for you to read and covers what’s happening in Post Office scandal land right now, including the various compensation battlefronts and Nick Read (Post Office CEO)’s forthcoming appearance before the BEIS Select Committee.

After Mr Read’s session on Tuesday, we will hear from the Postal Affairs minister Paul Scully and two civil servants, one of whom sat on the Post Office board during its disastrous attempt to squash the Postmasters civil litigation claim at the High Court.

The reason for the committee hearing is to discuss compensation for Subpostmasters, but I hope Darren Jones, the committee chair, will permit himself and his fellow MPs to raise other important issues, like accountability. Mr Read’s last submission to parliament left a lot to be desired, and Tom Cooper has never been properly challenged about his role on the Post Office board.

I’m tempted to go along and take the temperature of proceedings on Tuesday from the back of the room, but you can watch it all unfold here from 9.45am on Tuesday from the comfort of your own home, if you so desire.

2022 movements

I am currently meant to be writing a three-part series on a completely different scandal for BBC Radio 4. I promised my producers I’d try to get them three complete drafts by Monday. As of Friday I had written a quarter of the first draft, so I’d better get back to work (not least because my producers are also secret emailers and might – understandably – be wondering why I’m writing marathon blog posts instead of toiling away on their scripts).

This does mean secret emails might be thin on the ground in January, but I have no doubt Karl at Computer Weekly and Tom at the Daily Mail and the many other fine journalists following this scandal will keep you informed if I miss anything.

Once I’ve got this latest non-Post Office investigation put to bed, I should be able to cover the impact hearings at the Post Office Statutory Inquiry, which begin mid-Feb, then there is a gap during which (funding permitting) I might go off to America to report the US leg of Depp v Heard in Virginia, but I’ll be back for the Inquiry hearings in June, which is when we’ll start to get some answers about the origins of the cursed Horizon system.

Thanks to everyone who has joined the secret email list, either by donating directly or through buying a copy of The Great Post Office Scandal via Bath Publishing. It’s good to have you on board.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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.