Good afternoon secret emailers

Some third trial news: it will be purely about quantum.

Quantum is defined as “a required or allowed amount, especially an amount of money legally payable in damages.”

It seems that we are going to spend March watching the parties argue about the value that should be put on alleged wrongs suffered by the claimants in specific relation to four people – Naushad Abdulla, Pam Stubbs, Alan Bates and Liz Stockdale – all of whom were lead claimants in the first trial (read what happened to them on www.postofficetrial.com and search for their names).

These will act as benchmarks for the other claimants.

Though not all the other claimants as none of the above lead claimants were prosecuted and I’m still not sure what the plan is for them.

Fourth trial

The fourth trial will almost certainly be in June 2020 and it will now deal with limitation. ie whether or not anyone whose problems with the Post Office are time-barred. This could preclude a large number of claimants as the usual civil limitation is six years and the first claim in this action was lodged 2016.

It also throws up the faintly ridiculous prospect of Alan Bates, who was sacked by the Post Office in 2003, being awarded theoretical damages after the third trial and then being disqualified from receiving them if the court decides after the fourth trial he is time-barred. Hey ho. I’ll write all this up on the blog, but I thought you’d appreciate knowing now.

Case Management Conference

All the above was discussed in a case management conference at the High Court yesterday afternoon. I didn’t attend, but I have the transcript and will be ploughing through it for anything else in it that’s interesting later today.

Criminal Cases Review Commission update

Eagle-eyed secret emailer Wendy spotted an entire section devoted to the Post Office 35 in the CCRC’s annual report. I’ve written it up here.

The curious case of the £600 fraud

I’ve also written up a story about a Postmaster who was held liable by the Post Office for a £600 fraud, and then, when he shut his branch and resigned his position in protest, was no longer held liable and the branch was reopened. This reverse ferret seems to have been brokered by the new area managers the Post Office has brought in to help Subpostmasters. Although I didn’t put it in the piece I’m wondering if we are starting to see the effects of the 15 March judgment, even as the Post Office is appealing it.

Correspondence

Thanks as ever for your continued correspondence. The information you are sending me is incredibly valuable. I am sorry if I have been so busy I have not been able to reply, especially if you are waiting on some information in return. I am horribly backlogged at the moment. Please bear with me.

Thanks also to our new secret emailers. I have received some significant donations even since I produced my last set of accounts (Monday), which is very heartening. I am grateful to everyone who has put some money into this project.

Cheers

Nick

PS if there is a new BEIS Secretary or Minister for Postal Services announced over the next couple of days, do let me know if you know anything about them…