JFSA goes for parliamentary ombudsman

Morning all

I knew Alan Bates was up to something! Before we get into today’s episode of the Great Post Office Trial, some news on the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance’s next step – launching a crowdfunded complaint to the parliamentary ombudsman about the (lack of) actions of the government in letting the Post Office essentially go rogue over the last two decades. If the JFSA raise the funds they need this could be a big story. More on the Post Office Trial website.

So to today…

The role of the National Federation of Subpostmasters in the Post Office Horizon scandal has never been properly examined journalistically. The story simply is not complete without them. Unions are the canaries down the coal mine. Journalists and MPs rely on them to raise the alarm when something is going badly wrong.

It is plainly evident from the number of Subpostmasters and NFSP people I have spoken to down the years that the NFSP refused, as a matter of national policy, to criticise Horizon or the Post Office for its methods in prosecuting Subpostmasters.

The NFSP has no database of problems raised by Subpostmasters about Horizon and until recently (August 2015 Branch Secretaries Circular) was telling its members it had not received any, specifically: “Put simply, the NFSP has not received calls from subpostmasters querying Horizon and alleging systematic failings. If there were a widespread problem, our subpostmasters would have made us aware of it.”

900 prosecutions of Subpostmasters took place between 1999 and the present day where the use of Horizon data may have been part of that prosecution. And the NFSP in many cases (though there are some outstanding local exceptions) seemed to do little more than walk their members to the gallows.

Today you’ll hear an interview with Calum Greenhow, the current chief executive of the NFSP. I expect you might be interested in what he has to say.

Please do listen at 1.45pm on BBC Radio 4, if you can, or you can listen online after the episode has been broadcast here.

More journalism

The Daily Mail features team have written a piece on Sarah Burgess Boyde and the wider Horizon scandal here and Duncan Campbell-Smith, author of the excellent book “Masters of the Post: The Authorised History of the Royal Mail” has written a piece on the Horizon scandal for The Spectator magazine called “How the Post Office Lost Its Way“. I bought Duncan’s book a while back and gave him a call whilst doing some research. He’s a lovely chap and was very helpful. You can find Duncan’s website here.

Thank you to all the new subscribers and those who have taken the time to get in touch. The Radio 4 series means I am getting quite a bit of correspondence from non-secret emailers – indeed, many emails have nothing to do with the Post Office at all – they highlight other potential injustices. Some are worth pursuing, but each requires a sensitive reply, so apologies if I am not as responsive as usual.

Yours

Nick