Seems that Paula Vennells returned her CBE back.
Horizon scandal - now dramatised as Mr Bates vs The Post Office
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Yes, what was truly ridiculous is that Fujitsu gave it's lowest level support people access to the system to try and bug fix but this access was unmonitored and untraceable and included the ability to actually process transactions. This access was via a common login which potentially hundreds of past employees could have had access to.
Fujitsu people and Senior people at the Post Office fraud team swore on oath in court multiple times that such "remote access" was only via secure token and was monitored and severely restricted in scope. In reality this info was bascally open access for Fujitsu staff past and present.
What is also telling is that countless Judges tried to direct jury's against convicting the posties...pointing out that Royal Mail had failed to provide any evidence of the defendants making any monetary gain from this suspected fraudulent activity. No evidence of additional accounts or lavish spending, indeed many of them had ploughed in personal funds to try and cover these "shortfalls".
So these cases would probably have failed if they had been presented to a magistrate, who would have required similar levels of proof. The fact that Royal mail pursued criminal cases meant they could get away with these spurious claims of the "reliability" of Horizon evidence as uninformed Jury's would just accept the evidence of a senior Royal Mail "technical expert".
This pursuing of people through the courts - built into peoples bonus packages and performance plans - is where Royal Mail really lost the plot, given they all knew they went for the cheap (dogshit) version of an accounting package.
The "Pubco's" (big pub chain owners) have for years been harassing Pub Managers with dodgy "metered" beer systems that provide false data and make out that pub managers have been literally siphoning off profits. They have largely got away with it (apart from a few Private Eye articles) because they use this to intimidate / change ownership of the pub, but they have not been stupid enough to take this through the courts because they know their "evidence" won't stand up to scrutiny.
Fujitsu were responsible for many of the Government systems I have used in the Civil Service. If we had to report an error, it cost the Government significant money to have it fixed. It was in their interests for it not to work properly. They should check the bank accounts of anybody responsible for handing out these contracts.
The investigator on today is a piece of work.
Still insists the post master was guilty and is pissed off he's being bothered about it
Still insists the post master was guilty and is pissed off he's being bothered about it
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68079300
Another day another revelation.
Documents showing Post Office top bosses secretly decided in April 2014 to sack forensic accountants who had found bugs in their IT system have been obtained by the BBC.
Another day another revelation.
Documents showing Post Office top bosses secretly decided in April 2014 to sack forensic accountants who had found bugs in their IT system have been obtained by the BBC.
The irony and stupidity of sacking forensic accountants only to be stupid enough to keep the documents showing that decision.
I shouldn't laugh because the amount of lives lost and destroyed is despicable. I know everyone wanted compensation and the truth to come out, but to me that's not even close to being enough. Enough of the innocent served jail time, now those guilty need to as well.
Just seen that. What a fecking cnut, I hope he lives to regret being such a cnut.
And they should serve 10 times as long.The irony and stupidity of sacking forensic accountants only to be stupid enough to keep the documents showing that decision.
I shouldn't laugh because the amount of lives lost and destroyed is despicable. I know everyone wanted compensation and the truth to come out, but to me that's not even close to being enough. Enough of the innocent served jail time, now those guilty need to as well.
Jason Beer's withering put downs are fantastic. 'hopefully we can improve upon it now the dog walking and carol services are out of the way'
Some of the post office investigators have been horrible, but the worst people so far have been the lawyers involved in the Lee Castleton case
You think the Post Office can't plumb any new depths, they've found a (perhaps unsurprising) massive racist bias in their investigations.
Post Office called Horizon suspects ‘negroid types’ as late as 2013
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...o-horizon-suspects-as-negroid-types-jv32dlqbx
Post Office called Horizon suspects ‘negroid types’ as late as 2013
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...o-horizon-suspects-as-negroid-types-jv32dlqbx
Former Post Office chair says he was told to stall Horizon compensation payouts
Henry Staunton claims request was made so government could ‘limp into’ the next general election
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ffice-boss-stall-horizon-compensation-payouts
Henry Staunton claims request was made so government could ‘limp into’ the next general election
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ffice-boss-stall-horizon-compensation-payouts
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Post Office enquiry ….bosses in arse protection mode, deny all knowledge seems to be the trend.
Far too late for apologies, prison is what they deserve.
Far too late for apologies, prison is what they deserve.
Spot on.
Funny how it works. Get paid millions for running an organisation but not have a clue what the organisation does
All about this is just plain infuriating. Several people should go to prison for fairly long sentences for knowingly destroying so many lives.
Complete car crash stuff today.
Solicitor advising the post office not to look into issues until after a case in case they have to disclose the problem harming their defence.
Also hilarious use of 'top bantz' by Jason Beer KC to put down this prick
Solicitor advising the post office not to look into issues until after a case in case they have to disclose the problem harming their defence.
Also hilarious use of 'top bantz' by Jason Beer KC to put down this prick
Even more worrying is that he's still head of legal at the Post Office.
People have been struck off for far less egregious conduct than he's been questioned on demonstrating a lack of integrity, so hopefully not for much longer..
What did he do/say?
From memory he messaged a colleague who had talked shit about SPMs saying 'you're the only person more cynical than me' they responded with 'I'll take it as a badge of honour ' and he responded 'as intended '
Jason Beer asked what that exchange meant, he was struggling, got pressed, 'were you mocking SPMs', more struggling, 'was it just banter?' 'top bantz?'
Ahhh, thank you.
Susan Crichton was a much more sympathetic person than I anticipated.
After so many PO witnesses making me feel like a stroke is coming on it was weird.
After so many PO witnesses making me feel like a stroke is coming on it was weird.
Angela Van Den Bogerd might be one of the worst people alive today.
Contemptible prick
Contemptible prick
Watching her during the inquiry the amount of deflecting she did reminded me of the narcissist's prayer, "That didn't happen, and if it did it wasn't that bad, and if it was it's not a big deal, and if it was it's not my/post office's fault and if it was I/we didn't mean it and if I did you deserved it."
Ok she may have not said that last part but wouldn't surprise me if she at least thought it. Let's face it you generally don't get to the type of positions she got to in organisations like that by having a conscience.
Does anyone know when Paula Vennells is supposed to appear at the inquiry?
at one point in her testimony she does say that in her experience 'some' SPMs were guilty of theft 'before Horizon', and we know Paula Vennells told MPs that the cause of the issue is 'temptation' so I guess its probably their thinking that some of what happened was deserved, even if they are aware enough not to say it in the current political landscape, unlike that Barrister who went after Lee Castleton who actually blamed him for signing off the accounts, or the Scottish dude who told the inquiry to stop bothering him because it was 'so long ago and the guy did it'.
Paula Vennells is up 22-24th May
Incredible how many people seemingly get paid to not read their emails
Jarnail Singh has just claimed that it's beyond his technical knowledge to be able to save a document on his computer.