Archives :
Second Sight
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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…
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Ghost Storey
Usually when thinking about how to write a summary of the day’s evidence, there are one or two moments or lines which have made an impression. I’m struggling to think of anything Susannah Storey said during today’s session worth reporting. I realise I’m not exactly selling what you’re about to read, but it did feel…
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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…
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Furious Swinson claimed Paula Vennells deceived her
During her evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry former minister Jo Swinson today highlighted the mendacity of the Post Office and what she saw as the conniving “duplicitous” behaviour of her chief civil service advisor. It all centres on the first Clarke Advice, the legal document written in July 2013 which was kept…
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Second Sight tell it straight
“Good luck” said a reporter as Ron Warmington headed into Aldwych House. Warmington wheeled round. “Don’t need bloody luck”, he grinned. “I’ve been waiting twelve years for this.” Indeed he has. In 2012 forensic accountants Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson were invited by MPs, the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) and the Post Office to…
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The Hatchet Man: Aujard gives evidence
Chris Aujard presents as thoughtful, intelligent and professional – a very different person to the one boasting about his crisis management skills shortly after leaving the Post Office in 2015. Older and wiser, perhaps, or better at image projection. Aujard was involved in a deliberate attempt to frustrate Second Sight’s independent investigation into the Post…
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The Bleatings of a Sorry Scapegoat: Susan Crichton’s Pity Party
Susan Crichton cut a sorry figure at the Inquiry today. A woman apparently trying to do the right thing, but not trying hard enough. A woman whose stated intentions were not borne out (and occasionally downright contradicted) by the documentary evidence. A woman who came up against a company board more interested in reputation management…
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The Second Sight Interim Report
I’ve been talking a lot recently about Second Sight’s Interim Report, written by Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson. It is a game-changing, short, easy-to-read document, released on 8 July 2013 which sets out all of the Post Office’s problems to them in clear language. It used to be published on the Post Office website, but…
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False Accounts – London run approaches
The London run of False Accounts – a satirical play about the Post Office Horizon scandal by the Outcasts Creative theatre group – starts its one week run on 1 November. It has attracted quite a bit of interest from many people directly affected by what happened, some of whom have been kind enough to…