Sir Ed Davey

Apart from the vile motivation of certain political parties and their supporters in the media, is there any logical explanation for shifting the entire blame for the Post Office scandal onto an ex minister who was involved with Post Office matters for only 2 years out of the last 25 years, during which time another 19 politicians had that responsibility?

Sorry, resign!

Casdon

prestbury

Is there something about the past and current leaders of the Liberal Democrats that makes them hate post office workers.

Vince Cable - oversaw the breakup of the Royal Mail into privatised Royal Mail and public owned Post Office, Ed Davey - Postal Minester 2010 t0 2012 and Jo Swinson -Postal Minister from 2012 to 2015. Surely they cannot all have missed the signals. LD members have also been asked to deflect any questions while electioneering .

Has it occurred to you that these people were handed a known to be poisoned chalice in a coalition government? I’m not a Lib Dem supporter, but my first thought was that they were shafted.

At the time of their appontment, their leader was Deputy Prime Minister, I wonder what part he played in their appointments of the "poisoned chalice".

winterwhite

This is a witch hunt and like all witch hunts it is not pretty.
Many people should resign over this affair before ED.

Many people should resign over this affair including Ed Davey.

I feel disillusioned.

Urmstongran

I always liked to think that the Lib Dems were more measured and sincere in outlook than the 2 main contenders. Now? I just think they are woolly nonentities. A wasted vote.

I’ve always thought they were woolly nonentities.😄

Witzend

I’ve sent a screenshot of your post to dh, Callistemon - he’s a fervent LD supporter and a party member. I’m now just waiting for him to pick holes, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t know how I’m going to vote next time. I’ve voted LD several times, largely because the only alternative is the Tories - Labour come nowhere here - it’s not because I’m enamoured of them.

If there’s a Monster Raving Loony candidate, I might even go that far - it’s been known once before, when I was sick to death of the lot of them!

Our Lib Dem candidates are usually very good, Witzend but have never succeeded in this constituency. I wonder what they're thinking now?

This is a witch hunt and like all witch hunts it is not pretty.
If you want to know what a witch hunt looks like, winterwhite, then you need to look no further than what was orchestrated against the subpostmasters, subpostmistresses over years of torment by the Post Office officials, Governments and Fujitsu, compounded by employing a top, expensive legal firm and fighting them in court!

Apologising might be a start but Ed seems unable to do that.

Ilovecheese

He is tainted now, which wont help the LibDems at election time. Is there another person who could take over the leadership? I don't know much about how they choose their leaders, is there time to establish a "clean skin" before the next election?
I agree he is being unfairly singled out, but that ship has sailed now,

I don’t think it unfair at all.Unfair is what happened to almost a thousand subpostoffice owners.

And if calling for resignation is a witch hunt perhaps he should stop doing it.

Sounds like he should be there too.
I cant see what is wit ch hunt about it all.

Even if he is 7th in line to go, and there are 10, then I dont see the problem[apart from the fact it is all such a sorry mess to warrant 10 in the first place].

This is a witch hunt and like all witch hunts it is not pretty.
Many people should resign over this affair before ED.

Witzend

I’ve sent a screenshot of your post to dh, Callistemon - he’s a fervent LD supporter and a party member. I’m now just waiting for him to pick holes, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t know how I’m going to vote next time. I’ve voted LD several times, largely because the only alternative is the Tories - Labour come nowhere here - it’s not because I’m enamoured of them.

If there’s a Monster Raving Loony candidate, I might even go that far - it’s been known once before, when I was sick to death of the lot of them!

He’s come back already, picking holes - albeit not very big ones. ‘It’s all politically motivated…’ etc.

I know he’ll now be spending ages in his lair (aka study) checking all the facts, in the hope of telling me they’re wrong or at least misrepresented.

I always liked to think that the Lib Dems were more measured and sincere in outlook than the 2 main contenders. Now? I just think they are woolly nonentities. A wasted vote.

I’ve sent a screenshot of your post to dh, Callistemon - he’s a fervent LD supporter and a party member. I’m now just waiting for him to pick holes, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t know how I’m going to vote next time. I’ve voted LD several times, largely because the only alternative is the Tories - Labour come nowhere here - it’s not because I’m enamoured of them.

If there’s a Monster Raving Loony candidate, I might even go that far - it’s been known once before, when I was sick to death of the lot of them!

Callistemon21

ProbablyCasdon

But calling on others so many times to do the honourable thing and expressing does not seem to app,y to Ed himself.

And - Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

I'm sorry because I quite liked Ed.

I agree. Sorry costs nothing. I don’t think throwing Vince Cable and Jo Swinson in the ring was right in this context though.

expressing?
I did type resign

Must check.

ProbablyCasdon

But calling on others so many times to do the honourable thing and expressing does not seem to app,y to Ed himself.

And - Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

I'm sorry because I quite liked Ed.

prestbury

Is there something about the past and current leaders of the Liberal Democrats that makes them hate post office workers.

Vince Cable - oversaw the breakup of the Royal Mail into privatised Royal Mail and public owned Post Office, Ed Davey - Postal Minester 2010 t0 2012 and Jo Swinson -Postal Minister from 2012 to 2015. Surely they cannot all have missed the signals. LD members have also been asked to deflect any questions while electioneering .

Has it occurred to you that these people were handed a known to be poisoned chalice in a coalition government? I’m not a Lib Dem supporter, but my first thought was that they were shafted.

He is tainted now, which wont help the LibDems at election time. Is there another person who could take over the leadership? I don't know much about how they choose their leaders, is there time to establish a "clean skin" before the next election?
I agree he is being unfairly singled out, but that ship has sailed now,

If only he would apologise- but he refuses to do so.
They should all be apologising with sincerity and making amends.

Ed Davey failed to attend Parliament when this matter was debated last week.
He was the Minister responsible for the Post Office at time when dozens of sub posters and postmistresses were writing, telling him of their plight. He failed to investigate the details of the Horizon scandal, despite these letters from victims.

He then took a job with his brother's firm which was employed by the Post Office to fight the litigation brought by the victims to court.

He has also called on others to resign several times - perhaps he should take his own advice.

That is why, varian and others who defend him.

Galaxy

Yes we have seen the script Varian.
There are many people who hold responsibility for what happened, I think the focus on Paula Vennels for example with no mention of the previous CEOs is not at all helpful. The concerns about Davey are also to do with his links to the legal firm hired by the Post Office. Add in his regular calls for others to resign and you have a perfect storm.

The concerns about Davey are also to do with his links to the legal firm hired by the Post Office

This 👍
Duplicity.

Ed Davey doesn't come out of this well, that's for sure, and I was unaware of the HSF connection. However, as others have said, he was just one of the many in charge, and is suits both Labour and the Tories to single him out. I would like to see him resign as leader of the LibDems, if only because he will then be one of the few in this whole sorry business who does the right thing.

Yes we have seen the script Varian.
There are many people who hold responsibility for what happened, I think the focus on Paula Vennels for example with no mention of the previous CEOs is not at all helpful. The concerns about Davey are also to do with his links to the legal firm hired by the Post Office. Add in his regular calls for others to resign and you have a perfect storm.

Hang on, I understand that there have been 15 Tory ministers responsible for the post office since Ed Davey, with the problem escalating and becoming more visible all the time. Where are the calls for all of them to resign, if still MPs. Why is it thought that ED alone is responsible for the problem? Because there is a general election coming up and the tory press wants to discredit the Lib Dems. Simples as Teresa May would say.

The Post Office scandal started soon after the installation of the Horizon system in 1999.

As we saw from the ITV drama, Alan Bates was accused of having a "shortfall" and lost his post office in 2003.

Ed Davey, who was Post Office Minister between 2010 and 2012. was one of 20 ministers responsible for the Post Office from 1999 to date. and he was the first PO minister to meet Alan Bates. despite advice from officials. “Initially I was told not to, but I insisted when I read some of his letters because I could hear his anger. I took his arguments to the Post Office but I was lied to,” he said.

As a result of pressure by Ed Davey and other MPs the forensic accountants "Second Sight" were appointed to investigate in 2012.

It is blatant political expediency on the part of Labour and Tory politicians to try to single out Ed Davey and point the finger at him, rather than any of his predecessors or successors in the role.

In 2019 Theresa May was warned about Paula Vennels' role in prosecuting innocent postmasters and perpetuating lies about the reliability of Horizon, but she still approved her CBE.

Nose in the trough, like so many of them. 🙁