What the Subpostmasters were up against
Hi
I’ve spent the day tinkering with the Post Office Scandal website, re-opening the tip jar and writing up yesterday’s extraordinary evidence at the Inquiry.
It wasn’t just extraordinary thanks to Elaine Cottam, the woman pictured above. The Post Office contributed to the general sense of astonishment by managing to throw yet another spanner in the Inquiry’s works over disclosure. It means that the evidence sessions from at least two important witnesses have been postponed.
Karl Flinders has written it up for Computer Weekly.
Elaine Cottam was amazing though. I mean, really, really amazing. It would have been entertaining were it not deadly serious for the people affected by her decisions.
Today at the Inquiry
The Guardian has written up today’s truncated hearing which featured evidence from a Post Office lawyer called Teresa Williamson who had a hand in the 2002 prosecution of Lisa Brennan.
After her conviction, wrote Mark Sweney, Lisa “tried to take an overdose, her marriage broke down, she became bankrupt and the family home had to be sold, leaving her homeless”.
Williamson said “she now knows upper management were aware of potential bugs and problems with the Horizon IT system but never told those pursuing cases against branch operators who were wrongfully convicted of stealing”.
Thanks
Thanks again for your continued support. Please do forward this email to anyone who might be interested. I’ve reopened the tip jar for first-time subscribers as I think there might be a growth in public appetite for information about the rest of the Inquiry hearings scheduled to take place this year.
I doubt we’ll do any more Investigating the Post Office Scandal podcasts (other than the odd special) and the Elon Musk wrecking of twitter has put me off doing much live-tweeting in future, but I’ll do what I can via this newsletter and the Post Office Scandal website to keep you across the various important witnesses when/if they come to give evidence.
All best
Nick