Archives :
Fujitsu
-
Closing statements: Day 2 – Circular Firing Squad
There were some good points made today, but the main one was a big shrug – “not me, mate”. In this blog post I’m going to focus on what was said by the various core participants’ barristers. For more on what it was like to be there and why there’s a basket full of chocolate…
-
Closing statements: Day 1
The hearing room was packed today as Subpostmasters, their supporters, lawyers, journalists and members of the public attended a long day of submissions at Aldwych House in London. First out of the blocks was Ed Henry KC who sought to draw the line of conspiracy upwards through the executive to the Post Office board. Henry…
-
It’s Mike’s World. We just live in it.
It seems like we’ve got the Post Office scandal all wrong. The moment in 2012 the Post Office caved and finally agreed to get independent investigators Second Sight into the building was nothing to do with the campaign by MPs and Alan Bates’ Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance. It was, in fact, all down to the…
-
Were some Subpostmaster discrepancies down to internal fraud?
Since the rollout of the Horizon IT system in 1999/2000, the Post Office has been unable to tell the difference between computer error and fraud. Whilst relentlessly pursuing innocent people, it potentially failed to spot the multiple ways public money could be leaking out of its network. In a podcast I hosted last year (Ep…
-
Asleep at the Neil
Neil McCausland was a non-executive director (NED) at the Post Office. In fact, he was the Senior Independent Director (SID), responsible during board meetings for robust examination of the executive’s actions and responsible outside board meetings for doing his research, marshalling the opinions of the other NEDs and communicating them to the Chair and executive…
-
Second Sight’s final report
Earlier this year I published Second Sight’s Interim Report, which was first published on the Post Office website on 8 July 2013 and removed several years later. Second Sight’s far more critical final report, formally known as “Briefing Report – Part 2”, was not published on the Post Office website when it was delivered to…
-
The Wine Gums vs The Blob
Putting together a list of Postal Affairs ministers a few years back I was reminded of a graffito written shortly after the 33 day papacy of John Paul I, which asked: “What lasts longer, a pope or a wine gum?” It seemed apt. At a time when ministers should have been getting a solid grip…
-
A Trip down Misery Lane: Surviving the Post Office on BBC1
Surviving the Post Office (co-produced and co-directed by Hayley Hassall, who has previously reported on the story) has something of the travelogue about it. Will Mellor, who played former Subpostmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, presents. Mellor calls his role in the ITV drama “more important than any…
-
Pat’s Proof Points (and other McFadden Mantras)
Former Post Office minister (2007 – 2010) Pat McFadden didn’t have to say much to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, but he did have to say something. Being a campaign-hardened and experienced politician, he had no qualms about saying very little lots of times. McFadden was asked (in a number of ways) why he…
-
Comical Ken and Captain Kelly
Ken McCall was brought into the Post Office in 2016 as a non-executive director (NED) because the Post Office chairman Tim Parker thought he would be a “good fit”. We were told this was because of McCall’s experience running a delivery business (TNT) in China and being responsible for EuropCar and its IT function in…