Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PostOfficeScandal
Most recents (24)
@sandratizzard @stugoo17 @mkiceburnmarko @nickwallis I would absolutely expect EVERY board member who is remunerated for their role to absolutely read every word of the 200+ report before they vote to accept it. That is one of the jobs of the directors for which they are paid.
I did not read it all is NO excuse.
@PostOffice
I did not read it all is NO excuse.
@PostOffice
@sandratizzard @stugoo17 @mkiceburnmarko @nickwallis @PostOffice And reading the @PostOffice account (all of it!) notice the phrase under
Culture Change program
"... activities undertaken to bring our people closer to Postmasters ..."
Note the "our people" and the us and them implication! Very telling language in a culture change reference
Culture Change program
"... activities undertaken to bring our people closer to Postmasters ..."
Note the "our people" and the us and them implication! Very telling language in a culture change reference
@sandratizzard @stugoo17 @mkiceburnmarko @nickwallis @PostOffice If you want to read the @PostOffice accounts for yourself they can be found at
…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/021545…
Scroll down to 1 Mar 2023 Group of companies' accounts
#PostOfficeScandal
…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/021545…
Scroll down to 1 Mar 2023 Group of companies' accounts
#PostOfficeScandal
During @KevanJonesMP (Lab) UQ in parliament today @chrisloder MP (Con) called Post Office CEO Nick Read "a liar" and Chris Pritchard, Post Office Head of Public Affairs "a liar" after meeting with them. V unusual. Reflects the strength of feeling in the House. Hard to see how...
@KevanJonesMP @chrisloder ... how Nick Read gets out of this hole, entirely of his making.
He accepted a bonus for co-operating with a public inquiry, and then signed off a demonstrably false statement in the PO's annual report.
#PostOfficeScandal
He accepted a bonus for co-operating with a public inquiry, and then signed off a demonstrably false statement in the PO's annual report.
#PostOfficeScandal
@KevanJonesMP @chrisloder Interesting that @chrisloder didn't explain why he said Read and Pritchard were liars (unless it was simply on the basis they told him the Post Office was "great"). Clearly just wanted to get on the record that he believes Pritchard and Read are liars. Very interesting...
Latest development in the Post Office's bonusgate. The Director General of the Business Department, David Bickerton has written to the Post Office demanding an apology for not informing the minister about the falsehood in its accounts and...
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeInquiry
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeInquiry
... an explanation as to how the falsehood came to be in the annual report. I am reminded that the report is not just filed at Companies House, but (as a govt-owned company) laid before parliament. This means the signatories of the annual report - the Chairman and CEO...
... (the outgoing Tim Parker and Nick Read) misled parliament.
The Post Office knew that it had a falsehood in its annual report (which it still cannot explain) on 6 April, but did not tell the govt it had misled parliament AT ALL. Instead, as we know, it issued...
The Post Office knew that it had a falsehood in its annual report (which it still cannot explain) on 6 April, but did not tell the govt it had misled parliament AT ALL. Instead, as we know, it issued...
Holy sh*t. The Post Office applied a senior executive bonus metric about its work on the Post Office Inquiry (without informing the inquiry). Then it used false information to say it had achieved the metric and awarded the executive bonuses, whilst implying...
... the Inquiry chair had confirmed the false information!!!
postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/news/chairs-st…
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeInquiry
postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/news/chairs-st…
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeInquiry
Post Office lawyers: "At the outset POL wishes to apologise to the Inquiry for setting a target that appeared to require the Chair's participation without asking Sir Wyn for his agreement to that, and for reporting against that target by suggesting the Chair and his team...
Two (of many) notable elements sprung from Andrew Winn's car crash evidence session to the #PostOfficeInquiry on Friday. They were:
- Evidence which could have stopped Seema Misra going to prison was withheld by Winn's boss, Rod Ismay:
postofficescandal.uk/post/andrew-wi…
- Evidence which could have stopped Seema Misra going to prison was withheld by Winn's boss, Rod Ismay:
postofficescandal.uk/post/andrew-wi…
- 2) The Post Office sued, bankrupted and ruined an innocent Postmaster at the High Court specifically to deter other Subpostmasters from attempting to take it to court over holes in their Horizon accounts.
postofficescandal.uk/post/post-offi…
#PostOfficeInquiry
and...
postofficescandal.uk/post/post-offi…
#PostOfficeInquiry
and...
... the infamous 2010 Ismay Report, which warned Post Office colleagues that investigating the Horizon system might lead to them realising innocent Postmasters had been sent to prison, is published for the first time (I think) here:
postofficescandal.uk/post/the-ismay…
#PostOfficeScandal
postofficescandal.uk/post/the-ismay…
#PostOfficeScandal
Holy shit - watching Colin Baker's evidence. The NFSP were hopelessly compromised. To call them complicit in this scandal is an understatement. NFSP refused to publicly criticise Horizon before rollout...
... despite knowing there were serious problems, failing even to inform a parliamentary select committee of the difficulties.
Baker is still giving evidence here;
Baker is still giving evidence here;
Baker agrees this was "very concerning":
Here are the Prosecution support pars in the agreement between ICL, PO and DSS re Horizon:
'4.1.8 The Contractor shall ensure that all relevant information produced by the POCL Service Infrastructure at the request of POCL shall be evidentially admissible...
'4.1.8 The Contractor shall ensure that all relevant information produced by the POCL Service Infrastructure at the request of POCL shall be evidentially admissible...
..
and capable of certification in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland)
Order 1989 and equivalent legislation covering Scotland...
and capable of certification in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland)
Order 1989 and equivalent legislation covering Scotland...
... [R829 para 1)
4.1.9 At the direction of POL, audit trail and other information necessary to support
live investigations and prosecutions shall be retained for the duration of the
investigation and prosecution irrespective of the normal retention period of that
information...
4.1.9 At the direction of POL, audit trail and other information necessary to support
live investigations and prosecutions shall be retained for the duration of the
investigation and prosecution irrespective of the normal retention period of that
information...
Good morning from the Salvation Army café near the International Dispute Resolution Centre where Day 2 of Week 3 of Phase 2 of the Post Office Horizon Inquiry is taking place.
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Yesterday we heard from Keith Todd, former CEO of ICL (the British company owned by Fujitsu which won the Horizon project as the ‘Pathway Consortium’)
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I’ve had a chance to review Mr Todd’s evidence this morning. What follows is a mini-fisk of his witness statement and oral evidence…
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Good morning from the Salvation Army café in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. I am here to load up on caffeine before attending the final day of Phase 2 Week 2 of the Post Office Horizon inquiry at the IDRC. This photo was taken a little earlier today...
... this is the third day the inquiry has been sitting this week. Day 1 was on Tuesday during which the Inquiry's IT expert Charles Cipione started and finished the first part of his oral evidence during which he took the inquiry through the first part of his reporting into...
... the Post Office Horizon system. You can find that report here:
postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/sites/default/…
Yesterday was mainly taken up with former Royal Mail Group CEO John Roberts' evidence. RM group had Post Office as one of its three companies and Roberts was in charge during...
postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/sites/default/…
Yesterday was mainly taken up with former Royal Mail Group CEO John Roberts' evidence. RM group had Post Office as one of its three companies and Roberts was in charge during...
Not.me.gov. UKGIs interesting opening written submissions to the PO Inquiry. Tl,dr. They indicate, from where they are sitting, it was largely the fault of PO execs, interim GC Aujard and CEO Vennells feature heavily. 1/ #postofficescandal postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/sites/default/…
It has a strong ‘let the finger pointing’ begin vibe. The claim is the Board we’re kept in the dark. The admission is the non execs did not do their job until 2018 at any rate. And while they do appear to have learnt several lessons, I predict they’ll learn more 2/
Key point one is the claim there is no evidence the Board were ever shown the Clarke Advices. Instead they focused on how Second Sights investigations might open them up to attack. 3/
I’m now reading the submissions from @edwardhenry1 he makes the really important and under appreciated point that, even on the evidence as it was, false accounting should arguably not have been run. #postofficeinquiry
And the equally important point about equivocal pleas. A point almost ignored so far, including by me. The customary anguish when I read about @CastletonLee or @Janetsk20073533 is accentuated with gut wrenching economy
Here’s an example. About Janet Skinner, “She enters a plea, an unequivocal, I suppose, but false plea, because she had been crushed.”
In 2020 the BEIS Permanent Secretary reprimanded the Post Office chairman Tim Parker for failing to disclose Jonathan Swift's report to the Post Office Board on advice from the Post Office General Counsel Jane MacLeod. Sarah Munby says: "We understand that you were advised...
... at the time by the Post Office's General Counsel that for reasons of confidentiality and preserving legal privilege the circulation of the report should be strictly controlled....
... Nevertheless, given the background of parliamentary interest, the fact that your review was commissioned by the Minister responsible for the Post Office and the potential significance of the recommendations made by Jonathan Swift QC...
Again I manage to forget the hashtag #PostOfficeScandal
Patrick Green QC, lead counsel for the claimants in Bates v Post Office has just said:
"The Review is an incredibly important document and we would have wished to have shown it to the Court if it had been available to us.”
"The Review is an incredibly important document and we would have wished to have shown it to the Court if it had been available to us.”
Richard Moorhead, Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at Exeter University has read the Review and says the points made about remote access seem to be "a bit of a show stopper both for its impact on potential appeals and on the Bates v Post Office litigation...
Welcome to the longest queue so far outside Fairfax County Court, Virginia for the beginning of Week 3 of DeppvHeard. Johnny Depp’s cross-examination is expected to conclude today.
I am told the witness schedule for today is likely to be as follows (subject to change):
Johnny Depp
Ben King - house manager in Australia (who found the tip of JD’s finger) - in person.
Tara Roberts - island estate manager
Johnny Depp
Ben King - house manager in Australia (who found the tip of JD’s finger) - in person.
Tara Roberts - island estate manager
Managed to spend the first part of today in court before diving out to do an as live for @5_News (on air now in the UK).
There was a 24 minute delay this morning before the jury filed in.
Then JD’s xe resumed - short audio clips were played in. Some were indistinct, but in...
There was a 24 minute delay this morning before the jury filed in.
Then JD’s xe resumed - short audio clips were played in. Some were indistinct, but in...
Tomorrow will be the final day of Johnny Depp’s evidence in #DeppvHeard at Fairfax County Court, Virginia. I’ll be in court. If you want to sign up to my newsletter for the rest of the trial (for a one-off donation), this is the link:
reportingdeppvheard.net/newsletter/
#JohnnyDepptrial
reportingdeppvheard.net/newsletter/
#JohnnyDepptrial
If you want to follow the podcast, youtube channel, instagram or find links to my other work, it’s all in this link tree:
linktr.ee/nickwallis
Tomorrow is also quite a special day for another reason…
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linktr.ee/nickwallis
Tomorrow is also quite a special day for another reason…
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… at 8pm BST tomorrow on BBC1 there will be a one-hour Panorama special on the Post Office. It’s actually quite an emotional watch. If you miss it go out in the TV schedule it will be up shortly after on the BBC iplayer here:
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
#PostOfficeScandal
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
#PostOfficeScandal
Okay @ArchNichola is being sworn in as the last witness of the day. She is the also the last sworn witness of this current phase of human impact statements. This is Nicki’s story - it’s well worth reading:
postofficetrial.com/2019/09/i-hate…
#PostOfficeScandal
postofficetrial.com/2019/09/i-hate…
#PostOfficeScandal
@ArchNichola Julian Blake (JB) is asking the questions.
@ArchNichola Nicki (NA) is talking about her background working as a relief worker in Post Offices around Stroud. By 1998 she was at Chalford Hill PO. The SPM passed away with terminal cancer. Her husband applied to take over and appointed NA to run it.
Welcome to day 10 of the public impact hearings of the Statutory Inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal. Today we will hear from Seema Misra, Janet Skinner and Tracy Felstead. All three women went to prison. All three had their convictions quashed at the Court of Appeal...
on 23 April 2021. They and their legal team had fought hard to argue the case that their convictions weren’t just unsafe, but an affront to the conscience of the court. That means it should never have been brought. The Post Office used all the legal firepower at its disposal...
… to try to stop this. It is certainly possible that were it not for Janet, Seema and Tracy, the Clarke Advice (which proved the Post Office knew it was responsible for unsafe prosecutions in 2013) may not have been made public. It is a racing certainty that had their...
Just dropped into the inquiry to finally meet Malcolm and Lesley Simpson who I have corresponded with for a while now and have a great affection for. Malcolm is currently describing to the inquiry how he came to be a Postmasters at Box Grove Post Office.
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeScandal
I won’t tweet everything he says as the inquiry is being streamed almost-live on youtube here:
youtube.com/channel/UCgijU…
youtube.com/channel/UCgijU…
Malcolm didn’t really want to take over the Post Office within his shop (in 2007), but when the existing Subpostmaster [SPM] retired he took it over “I wasn’t 100% happy about it… but it was there, it was an asset to the village”
Malcolm says of his training...
Malcolm says of his training...
Hello followers of the Post Office Horizon Scandal. I am going to attempt to live tweet the BEIS Select Committee hearing during which the Post Office CEO Nick Read is being grilled. You can watch it live here:
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/b9…
#PostOfficeScandal
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/b9…
#PostOfficeScandal
Darren Jones, the committee chair starts of calling Mr Read “Nick” which is very chummy and asking him why he can’t give proper compensation to everyone.
Read says it’s difficult. He wants to be thorough and get it right. On the GLO settlement for the 555...
Read says it’s difficult. He wants to be thorough and get it right. On the GLO settlement for the 555...
… Read says he can “empathise” and has been working with govt and encouraging govt to compensate them properly.
Jones asks the question again - what is stopping you from giving full settlement to everyone.
Read says he doesn’t have the resources. 950 prosecuted, 736 had...
Jones asks the question again - what is stopping you from giving full settlement to everyone.
Read says he doesn’t have the resources. 950 prosecuted, 736 had...
Oh ffs - new info from the Post Office Horizon Inquiry incoming:
"UPDATE FROM CHAIR REGARDING THE LIST OF ISSUES, PARAGRAPH 183
The Inquiry has updated the Completed List of Issues to include an additional footnote in relation to Issue No. 183.In addressing...
"UPDATE FROM CHAIR REGARDING THE LIST OF ISSUES, PARAGRAPH 183
The Inquiry has updated the Completed List of Issues to include an additional footnote in relation to Issue No. 183.In addressing...
“… paragraph 183, the Chair will consider whether all affected sub-postmasters, sub-postmistresses, managers and assistants, were adequately compensated for the wrongs they suffered….
“… The additional footnote confirms that this includes the 555 Claimants in the group litigation of Alan Bates and Others v Post Office Limited case [2019] EWHC 34308 (QB).”
This confirms the assurance given to solicitors Howe and Co that compensation for the 555...
This confirms the assurance given to solicitors Howe and Co that compensation for the 555...
Well this is interesting. Nick Read - Post Office CEO, and Paul Scully - business minister, are going to appear before the BEIS Select Committee on Tuesday next week to answer questions about compensation for Subpostmasters. Tom Cooper, the government civil servant and PO...
… director (who sat on the board throughout its disastrous, expensive, and - some would say immoral - civil litigation defence) will also be answering questions.
There are three distinct tranches of Postmasters requiring compensation….
There are three distinct tranches of Postmasters requiring compensation….
1) Those going through the government funded, Post Office-operated Historical Shortfall Scheme. Alistair Carmichael MP has already raised serious concerns about its fairness in the HoC (postofficescandal.uk/post/compensat…)...
Welcome to court 4 of the Royal Courts of Justice where we are expecting seven appellants to have their convictions quashed. There follows a live-tweet thread of what is happening in court...
The two people holding the banner in the last tweet are Eleanor Shaikh, a customer who became so outraged by the Post Office’s treatment of her Subpostmaster Chirag Sidphura that she became a campaigner. Read Chirag’s story here:
postofficetrial.com/2019/09/chirag…
#PostOfficeScandal
postofficetrial.com/2019/09/chirag…
#PostOfficeScandal
Just out of shot on the right is Pete Murray whose story is extraordinary. The Post Office tried to ruin him and very nearly succeeded. His story can be read here.
postofficetrial.com/2019/05/the-po…
postofficetrial.com/2019/05/the-po…
Good morning from Southwark Crown Court. The building opened at 8am and courts are sitting earlier than usual to get through a backlog of cases. We are expecting six Subpostmaster appeals to be heard at 0930 today. Live tweet thread follows...
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeScandal
The Subpostmasters involved are:
• Mohammed Aslam, who pleaded guilty to false accounting at Newport Magistrates’ Court on 23rd January 2007 and was sentenced to 60 hours of unpaid work and a £300 fine...
• Mohammed Aslam, who pleaded guilty to false accounting at Newport Magistrates’ Court on 23rd January 2007 and was sentenced to 60 hours of unpaid work and a £300 fine...
• Amanda Barber, who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 6th June 2012 and was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work...
Good morning from the first Post Office Horizon IT inquiry open hearing. It is being held at Juxon House in London in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral. Proceedings start at 11am.
#PostOfficeScandal
#PostOfficeScandal
Already, Howe and Co, who are representing 151 Subpostmasters have made a submission to change the name of the inquiry to the Post Office Inquiry, to ensure the inquiry looks at all aspects of the PO and govt’s behaviour - not just the IT system.
I am sitting next to my colleague from Panorama (Tim) to my left and the NFSP to my right. We are separated by clear perspex screens. On Tim’s left is Tom Witherow from the Daily Mail.
