Teresa Swinton’s Post

If you have seen Mr Bates v The Post Office scandal on ITV, then the following behind the scenes look at the legal process is an interesting and detailed read. #postoffice #litigationfunding #ateinsurance https://lnkd.in/eZKv89vf

I suspect, like many, I was aware of the Post Office scandal but had no idea of the extent of it until recent days. Of course hindsight is 20:20, but the Post Office / Fujitsu / Horizon scandal, which has been grabbing headlines in recent days, leaves me wondering how on earth, with all of the resources available, this situation got so far. Further, how it was allowed to happen so many times to so many people is a mystery. It seems to be accepted now that the Horizon system was flawed, but I must ask why there were so many actions against Post Office Sub Postmasters before their counter arguments were taken seriously; even if you couldn't drive a coach and horses through the assertions that "the system is robust" or that "the issues are isolated", the individuals were responding to allegations with a defence which it seems was never seriously considered. The Post Office process is of course different to the usual employment investigations, but the principles of natural justice are the same. Whoever is investigating is obliged to honestly consider the evidence, but the events recounted seem to suggest that at no point through a number of proceedings did the checks and balances which are supposed to ensure a fair hearing kick in. I undertake investigations from time to time and try to have in mind "How would I want to be treated if it was me being investigated?"; no-one deserves anything less than the thorough, objective or honest investigation and assessment that I'd have for myself. I shall be interested to see what the coming days bring; it is unusual to see so many organisations being shaken at such a high level, and hopefully positive developments will come. #postoffice https://lnkd.in/ew6ft_ew

Mr Bates versus the Post Office. Compelling viewing. And should be compulsory viewing. If you missed it, over 20 years ago the Post Office introduced a new computer system, Horizon. The system had bugs that meant accounts at sub-post offices didn’t always tally. Yet the PO contract meant the postmaster was held accountable. Over 700 were taken to court and over 200 imprisoned. Families were bankrupted or made homeless. Some took their own lives. It’s been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history 🤯 I’m truly surprised at how little has been said about this on LinkedIn. It’s a shocking case of a large corporation doing over the little guy. The Post Office used every tactic in the book to discredit small business owners, knowing full well hard-up ordinary people don’t have the resources to fight a long legal battle. For years politicians allowed this to happen in plain sight. It’s only this week that Rishi Sunak sniffed the potential for votes and has promised to accelerate justice. These postmasters are small business owners who just wanted to do right by their community. People like us who now need your help. If you can spare five minutes today then drop a message to your MP asking them to accelerate justice. What do you think of this scandal? #smallbusinessowner #sme #postofficescandal https://lnkd.in/eqNAWKbR

Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place? Many people make the mistake of associating LPAs with the elderly, but health issues and accidents can occur at any age. Naming someone you trust to act on your behalf if you're unable to make decisions could provide vital protection for your health and wealth. To learn more about the importance of Lasting Power of Attorneys, read our blog, linked below.

Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place? Many people make the mistake of associating LPAs with the elderly, but health issues and accidents can occur at any age. Naming someone you trust to act on your behalf if you're unable to make decisions could provide vital protection for your health and wealth. To learn more about the importance of Lasting Power of Attorneys, read our blog, linked below.

🫥Everything you need to know about the Post Office Ltd Horizon scandal Some of the innocent victims were sent to prison and four are known to have taken their own lives – so why has no one been held responsible? Mr Bates vs the UK Post Office told the true story of the Post Office #Horizon scandal The row over the Post Office scandal and the hundreds of victims who are yet to be fully compensated has dominated headlines over recent days. Here are the answers to questions you may have about the Horizon row, which still shows no sign of abating. What caused the Post Office scandal? The rollout of Horizon computing software - manufactured by Japanese company Fujitsu - across UK Post Office branches led to the prosecution of more than 900 sub-postmasters between 1999 and 2015. Faults in the software made it look like money was missing and sub-postmasters were charged with theft and false accounting as a result. Some were ordered to undertake community service or sent to prison and four are known to have taken their own lives. What did sub-postmasters do when they found out they had shortfalls? The Post Office ordered sub-postmasters to pay back money that was lost or face prosecution if they did not comply. They were contractually obliged to make up for the “losses” with their own funds. This resulted in some losing their livelihoods and going bankrupt as a result. source: The Telegraph - BBAi - BALKANS BUSINESS ADVISORY International https://lnkd.in/dbHW65Ji

Vennells is just a distraction now. She and her cohorts will be dealt with in due course. The real issue in the next 60 days has to be the passing of primary legislation enabling: 1) Overturn of all sub-postmaster convictions (which could I understand now to be as high as 2,500). 2) Annulment of all sub-postmaster bankruptcies since 1999. 3) Immediate on account interim payments of £1,000,000 to each subpostmaster (or their estate as the case may be) pending finalisation of the settlement within 12 months … all such interim and final payments to be tax free in the hands of the subpostmasters. 4) All legal / admin costs for the above to be underwritten by HMG separately from the settlement. 5) Public and individual written apologies to each sub-postmaster from HMG - being the sole shareholder of the Post Office. 6) Annulments of all NDAs implemented by The Post Office and / or their agents since 1999. (Thank you for spotting that Garry Honey). 7) Return of all funds (together with tax free compound interest) which the Post Office illegally demanded from sub-postmasters. (Thank you for spotting that John Tippett). .

I think this is the 500th article we have written about the Post Office scandal since 2009, fitting that it is about Sir Alan and the JFSA https://lnkd.in/eHExJtwx

Mr Bates vs The Post Office a 4-part documentary Sun 31st Mar 8:35-10:20 pm, and Mon 1st Apr - keen to know your thoughts. From what we know of neighbourhood convenience stores and corner diary owners there are similarities between the UK & NZ in that members from the Indian sub-continent form a significant proportion of owner-operators. In NZ, diary owners and liquor shops have been victims of violent crime, this story from the UK takes the suffering to a totally different level. IF you are from the IT industry, AND have an interest in the Indian community in NZ, THEN you do not want to miss this. Even though set in 1999, it is instructive as to why ethnic communities and the media, need to be strong and vigilant where digitisation is concerned, and even more so with AI. "Even though hundreds of news articles were written about the lawsuits over the years, millions of Britons found out about the scandal for the first time by watching the series" (ABC News). We ourselves were surprised to see very little discussion in the international IT forums we subscribe to. cc: Sunny Kaushal Himanshu (ash) Parmar From ABC: In 1999, the British Post Office rolled out the Horizon information technology system, developed by Fujitsu to automate sales accounting. Soon after, local post office managers began finding unexplained losses that they were responsible to cover. The state-owned post office took Fujistu's side, claiming Horizon was reliable and the branch managers were lying. Between 2000 and 2014, around 900 postal workers were wrongly convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting — with some going to prison and others forced into bankruptcy. In total, more than 2,000 people were affected by the scandal. Some died by suicide or attempted suicide. Others said their marriages fell apart and they became community pariahs. https://lnkd.in/dQ8p3uAF The Impact (Wikipedia): The series was credited for igniting public interest in the scandal and led to demands for the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells to have her CBE withdrawn; a perition that accrued more than 1.2 million signatures. Vennells issued a statement on 9 January 2024 that she would "return [her] CBE with immediate effect".[18] However, this had no formal and immediate effect, as only the monarch can revoke or annul honours. Vennells’s appointment as CBE was formally revoked by King Charles III on 23 February for "bringing the honours system into disrepute". Such was the impact of the drama that the scandal became a major news story, and on the following day Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted subpostmasters and said there would be a "new upfront payment of £75,000 for some of those affected". https://lnkd.in/dxVWmG6t #India #NZ #Digitisation #Diaspora #Ethnic #Community #Impact

Let’s be very careful here about the identification of one scapegoat, who then carries the can on her own. Successive governments have put massive pressure on Royal Mail and subsequently Post Office Ltd - and that continues to this day. Most important? Let’s see ALL Post Masters exonerated & compensated. NOW. IMMEDIATELY. Then let’s get ALL the facts out in the open, including the roles of previous Post Office executives, Fujitsu, the in-house IT team - and not forgetting the part played by investigating officers, the Crown Prosecution Service AND government ministers. Is there any evidence, for example, that Paula Vennells and others in top management were serially mislead ? I briefly worked beside Paula Vennells many years ago. My own judgement is that she might make mistakes - who doesn’t - but she would not deliberately have allowed Post Masters to be put through hell had she known the “Horizon” system was the root of the problem. Personally, as a former CEO myself, the supposed extent of the problem - HUNDREDS of Post Masters seemingly defrauding the Post Office- would have alerted me that something was seriously amiss. Why did Paula Vennells and other Post Office senior management not react in that way? I cannot believe it’s because they thought an IT system is infallible. That is beyond belief. We need the full facts, no whitewash or cover up - or else we will learn nothing AND the same thing could happen again.