Mr Bates giving his evidence today

Waiting to hear Vennells too. Isn't she the one who became a vicar?

Cannot wait for Paula Vennells to apppear at the inquiry in May. But I have the uncanny suspicion she may produce "a note from the doctor" and try to duck out on health grounds.

DrWatson

The whole affair is a shambles of mega-proportions. My understanding from previous debates is that Ed Davey initially knocked back Mr Bates, after briefings by the PO people. Only later was he dragged into a meeting.

Some weeks ago we heard from the PO's 'chief investigator' that he wasn't totally conversant with all the tech aspects of the system. Well, after that, they have NO defence.

It's already been revealed today (Weds) that the wretched Vennells woman (in line to be Bishop of London, at one point -- CofE's selection processes need a tweak?!) was claiming back in 2012 that "we have never lost a case against a sub-PO" -- an utter lie.

When SHE comes to the Inquiry, I confidently predict she will blame Fujitsu, for all failings and briefings. OR, possibly -- will send a sick-note. Fujitsu, in turn, will find a PO exec who long ago left, and better still died, and will try to blame them.

So sad that all you predict here DrWatson will be so true. An abomination of decency and justice.

Alan Bates stated he will appeal to GoFundMe in his efforts to bring the post office to justice. I will happily support him. I will also be watching Paula Vennells on the 22-24th of this month giving ‘evidence’ to the enquiry.

OldFrill

I doubt very much Alan Bates will ever accept a knighthood.

‘Rishi Sunak snubbed Post Office hero Alan Bates in a surprise ­honours list that included gongs for MPs and a major Tory donor.’ From the Mirror.

Chance would be a fine thing OldFrill.
….’the 69-year-old campaigner, who led a crusade against Post Office bosses for more than 20 years, said he would have refused any knighthood. The ex-subpostmaster became a national treasure after ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office shone a light on the Horizon IT scandal.’

Bea65

It does get worse day by day .. and yes, where is all the ‘money’ ??

But if the computers were generating these financial errors, this ‘money’ didn’t exist surely? It’s just false accounting with no funds to back it up. If a postmaster wakes up to find they are £4k in the red - where has that come from overnight 🤷🏻‍♀️

eazybee

He was offered a knighthood, I believe, and refused it.
As for not remembering what Ed Davey said, well, he never says anything memorable, ever.

Hear, hear.

Not following all UK news, my only thought was poor Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey. Anna will come to his defense!

It does get worse day by day .. and yes, where is all the ‘money’ ??

Grantanow
Fujitsu didn’t have a back door into Horizon, they had a front door: no less than No 10 Downing Street.
Blair was warned that it was a faulty system but because of trade with Japan it got the green light.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67941495

The longer this goes the more incensed I feel........the way the Post Master and Post Mistresses were treated was, and remains, abhorrent.
All those responsible for the farcical prosecutions should face prosecution themselves as they all, in my opinion, committed perjury.

I think that all the people/ firms who were given bonuses through the post office gains since Horizon was fitted should have them taken back to help those that were accused. Also, the firms concerned as well as people should have to stand trial.

Noone knows what happened to the money - it all just gets worse
news.sky.com/story/post-office-scandal-fujitsu-admits-it-was-involved-from-the-very-start-and-helped-prosecute-sub-postmasters-13048987

Some unanswered questions...why did Fujitsu have a backdoor into Horizon? Why did a covert Fujitsu team exist? Who instructed Fujitsu staff to alter subpostmasters' accounts? Did the PO have a backdoor into Horizon independent of Fujitsu? What happened to the money in accounts that were altered to show less balance?

The Whys have puzzled me, Grantanow

Was it for nefarious purposes, did they profit from it, or was it malicious, taking enjoyment from watching others suffering? Just because they could, feeling like gods?

Whatever it was, some of them should be prosecuted and, I hope, receive a prison sentence.

tattygran14

I’ve missed the info about where this money all went? Surely it must amount to hundreds of thousands being extorted from all these innocent people. Where is it?

It went into a 'suspense account' apparently and after a period was added to the profits. Although it might seem like an awful lot to the average person I understand that it would have been a tiny percentage of the profits.

I’ve missed the info about where this money all went? Surely it must amount to hundreds of thousands being extorted from all these innocent people. Where is it?

Go Mr Bates ! You are a remarkable man.

Some unanswered questions...why did Fujitsu have a backdoor into Horizon? Why did a covert Fujitsu team exist? Who instructed Fujitsu staff to alter subpostmasters' accounts? Did the PO have a backdoor into Horizon independent of Fujitsu? What happened to the money in accounts that were altered to show less balance?

Given that subpostmasters were distributed across the country why have only a small number of MPs addressed the scandal over the years? Did most MPs ignore complaints from wrongly prosecuted subpostmasters? If so, why?

Never mind a knighthood for Mr Bates. I think he should be in the House of Lords.

DrWatson

The whole affair is a shambles of mega-proportions. My understanding from previous debates is that Ed Davey initially knocked back Mr Bates, after briefings by the PO people. Only later was he dragged into a meeting.

Some weeks ago we heard from the PO's 'chief investigator' that he wasn't totally conversant with all the tech aspects of the system. Well, after that, they have NO defence.

It's already been revealed today (Weds) that the wretched Vennells woman (in line to be Bishop of London, at one point -- CofE's selection processes need a tweak?!) was claiming back in 2012 that "we have never lost a case against a sub-PO" -- an utter lie.

When SHE comes to the Inquiry, I confidently predict she will blame Fujitsu, for all failings and briefings. OR, possibly -- will send a sick-note. Fujitsu, in turn, will find a PO exec who long ago left, and better still died, and will try to blame them.

Agree on all your points, a wretched shambles.

montymops

Tim Stanley has described the scenario as ‘a story of common sense against ignorant expertise’ - Alan Bates is wonderful I think - honest, brave, determined and with a light touch of humour- he is making utter fools of those ‘thugs in suits’ - unmanageable indeed and what a good job he was.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Anyone watch James Arbuthnot session today? I sat with my mouth open, tears running down from time to time. It was unbelievable. I’m an ex public sector employee and cannot conceive of people acting in this way. To blatantly lie and cause people to go to prison and lose everything is beyond my understanding. Lord Arbuthnot is an extraordinary man. He’s a former Barrister so understands the law very well. It’s just an incredibly sad and shameful episode in our public life.

eazybee

He was offered a knighthood, I believe, and refused it.
As for not remembering what Ed Davey said, well, he never says anything memorable, ever.

He turned down an OBE. There have been petitions to have him knighted although he's said he'd refuse. The dishonourable 'honours' system is a nonsense.

The whole affair is a shambles of mega-proportions. My understanding from previous debates is that Ed Davey initially knocked back Mr Bates, after briefings by the PO people. Only later was he dragged into a meeting.

Some weeks ago we heard from the PO's 'chief investigator' that he wasn't totally conversant with all the tech aspects of the system. Well, after that, they have NO defence.

It's already been revealed today (Weds) that the wretched Vennells woman (in line to be Bishop of London, at one point -- CofE's selection processes need a tweak?!) was claiming back in 2012 that "we have never lost a case against a sub-PO" -- an utter lie.

When SHE comes to the Inquiry, I confidently predict she will blame Fujitsu, for all failings and briefings. OR, possibly -- will send a sick-note. Fujitsu, in turn, will find a PO exec who long ago left, and better still died, and will try to blame them.

I can't even begin to imagine what these people have gone through and are still going through. I know what it is like to be falsely accused of something and lose a job as a result, but my losses were trivial in comparisson. I rebuilt my life in a new job where I was much happier. I worked longer hours for less money, but being low paid I retrieved the difference through tax credits for a number of years. The biggest cost was to the school I left who had to pay me while suspended, then ultimately to the tax payer who then subsidised me until I retired. However you never totally get over something like that. I still feel intense anger towards my accusers, one of whom I've heard things about more recently regarding his antics. I wasn't sorry to hear that he cost his parents a fair bit as a young adult, and have no sympathy for them. Do they know they raised a young liar?
I hope that all the wronged people wll be fairly compensated, hopefully paid out by those responsible in the first place, not by the tax payer as is so often the case! Sadly though I suspect the tax payer will take a fairly substantial hit!

He was offered a knighthood, I believe, and refused it.
As for not remembering what Ed Davey said, well, he never says anything memorable, ever.