plus: A certain amount of Ismay

Hi everyone – I am on a noisy, bouncy train chugging through the Wiltshire countryside. Spring has very definitely sprung and I have just seen a white horse carved into a hill. Exciting.

I am on my way to Devon to meet Geoff Pound, one of the original 555 (see Bates v Post Office), whose short, dignified witness statement to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry has made me fizz with anger. After watching the utterly hapless and hopeless Rod Ismay (former Post Office exec) give evidence at the Inquiry yesterday, Geoff’s statement lays bare the human consequences of allowing idiots to wield unaccountable power. Every Post Office and govt witness should be asked to read Geoff’s statement before they give evidence. Not that they would be likely to care.

Hello Great Torrington

Geoff (pictured) is the special guest on the last leg of my series of talks around various random corners of England. We finish on Thursday with a sell out in Chelmsford, which is nice. Without wishing to curse it, I think the BBC are coming to film in Guildford on Wednesday, which is also nice (if they do). The final dates are here.

Do go and have a look at my write-up of Mr Ismay. He was not as incoherent as Post Office lawyer Rodric Williams whilst giving evidence but appeared incapable of understanding the import of what he was or wasn’t doing.

I maintain that if part of your business involves pursuing people through the criminal courts, that is the single most important part of your business. Ismay, along with many others, singularly failed to grasp this.

Other takes on Ismay

Post Office inquiry: Former executive called ‘gatekeeper of the remote access secret’ – Sky News

Ex-Post Office boss admits to ‘joining in the backslapping’ over pregnant postmistress’s conviction – Telegraph

Former Executive Dubbed “Guardian of the Remote Access Secret” in Post Office Inquiry – Business Mole [?]

Altman Re-examined

Richard Moorhead’s focus on the lawyers giving evidence at the Inquiry has borne more fruit. He’s written two substack posts already on Brian Altman KC’s evidence:

1) Are we human, or are we dancer?

2) How Brian Altman KC saw his role

The nagging suspicion I have from watching Altman (and the documents which were shown on screen during his evidence) was that he, more than anyone, had the authority to recommend:

• a proper examination of all Post Office prosecutions,
• the establishment of an open and honest dialogue with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, James Arbuthnot’s group of MPs and the JFSA,
• Human Impact hearings for wronged Subpostmasters
• that he and the Post Office Chair go to the Attorney General’s office to explain what they know.

Had he done so I am reasonably sure there would have been a huge blow-up, but it was surely the right (obvious?) thing to do. Here’s a reminder of my take on Altman’s evidence, for what it’s worth.

More things

Alan Bates has written an op-ed column in the Guardian in defence of litigation funders, the Lords will discuss the primary objectives of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill on Monday and Scotland’s Lord Advocate has been urged to “come clean” on whether she agrees with blanket exoneration of Horizon Post Office victims. Finally, setting up a new body to deal with compensation for Post Office Horizon victims would ‘take months and cost millions’, claims the government. Hmm.

The Private Eye column on the Post Office I pasted up cut-up form in the last secret email is actually available for free on the Eye website. My thanks to Paul McGuire for spotting this and sending on the link. But do go and buy the magazine anyway.

Richard Brooks (who wrote the Eye piece) was at the Inquiry hearing yesterday afternoon. Thanks to Sir Wyn’s insistence on an early bath we were able to retire to a nearby pub and compare notes on some of the recent evidence. It was good to see him again.

Has anyone seen the Plough Arts Centre?

Right, I’ve transferred from a train to the back of a car which is not the best place to try to format a newsletter so I’m going to leave it there. Thank for joining us if you signed up in recent days and apologies if I go a little quiet for a week or so. I had a little wobble on Thursday and whilst I’m determined to get as much out of this tour and the Inquiry whilst its still going, I’ve got to be careful not to overdo it.

Dialling down the blog posts and newsletters for a week will help. I will, however, remain glued to the Inquiry YouTube channel as we schlep from venue to venue. I’m particularly interested in seeing what the Inquiry barristers make of former Post Office Director of Communications Mark Davies. His lawyers sent me a pretty vicious legal letter when I put some allegations about his behaviour to him whilst preparing my book. For the record Mr Davies vehemently denied the allegations and has always been perfectly civil in his direct communications with me. I have not passed the allegations on to the Inquiry as my source was not willing to reveal their identity. Let’s see what else comes up on Tuesday.

Best

Nick

Post Office Scandal – The Inside Story

In April and May 2024, I’ll be visiting various theatres in towns around England.

At each venue I’ll be joined by a former Subpostmaster. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and learn 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.