Author Topic: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned  (Read 7001 times)

Nearly Sane

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Alan Bates rejects second Post Office compensation offer - and every time he does it just looks as if they are still not listening.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr74ezvpq0o

Nearly Sane

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Important day tomorrow at the inquiry with Paula Vennells giving evidence.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg33yjdpn0qo
« Last Edit: May 21, 2024, 12:20:20 PM by Nearly Sane »

Nearly Sane

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Link to live reporting, and live viewing of Vennells at the inquiry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-69042928

Nearly Sane

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Vennells appears to be doing a very long Manuel from Fawlty Towers defence that she knew nothing

Nearly Sane

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'I was not competent to do my job, and unable to ask questions about things I didn't understand'



Nearly Sane

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Odd approach to the 'truth' from Vennells


Nearly Sane

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Meanwhile Vennells continues to elicit groans


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-69042928

Nearly Sane

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Crucial to the inquiry as to whether the idea that the Horizon system might have bugs was 'world changing information'. Utterly baffling to me that any semi competent senior manager with even a smidgen of experience with IT could think that it didn't.

Nearly Sane

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'Vennells told not to make Post Office front page news' -  went well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cl44j0xgeljo
« Last Edit: May 23, 2024, 07:40:43 PM by Nearly Sane »

Nearly Sane

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Get your Daily Vennells 'ere.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-69056259

Nearly Sane

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Vennells says she 'loved the Post Office'. That seems to me a problem in anyone dealing with an organisation as a leader.

ETA - it seems to have meant she saw those running the post offices as antithetical to the organisation of 'Post Office', and that any criticism of the Horizon system as if it was an attack on the 'Post Office'.


« Last Edit: May 24, 2024, 02:59:15 PM by Nearly Sane »

Nearly Sane

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One take on the 5 big points from Vennells testimony this week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgxx1zgpn0ko

jeremyp

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Vennells says she 'loved the Post Office'. That seems to me a problem in anyone dealing with an organisation as a leader.

ETA - it seems to have meant she saw those running the post offices as antithetical to the organisation of 'Post Office', and that any criticism of the Horizon system as if it was an attack on the 'Post Office'.

The sub postmasters are not part of the Post Office: they are sub contractors. Those actually running the Post Office thought of them as not necessarily to be trusted. When she says she loved the Post Office she thought the sub postmasters were people from whom it needed to be protected.
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Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #113 on: June 05, 2024, 12:04:25 PM »
Giving evidence to the inquiry is Alice Perkins, former Chair of the Post Office, and married to Jack Straw, former Home Secretary.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-69091679

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #114 on: June 18, 2024, 01:16:35 PM »
Evidence from the forensic investigators sounds damning


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyddlynqlryo

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #115 on: June 20, 2024, 02:38:22 PM »
And even now, the Post Office continues to fail


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd110nl7dppo

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #116 on: June 21, 2024, 05:28:53 PM »
Apparently the only problem with the system was it wasn't defended enough by the Post Office. A bit of a take generally but from the former leader of the sub postmasters  union....


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxxz799vxko

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #117 on: June 25, 2024, 01:55:29 PM »
Another fascinating day at the hearing. I'm struggling with why Jenkins thought being an expert witness was sensible given his lack of understanding about what it meant. If anyone I worked with in IT had ever said they were going to be an expert witness, I'd have first told them don't and then tried to get them to understand if they were to do that they would have to be incredibly specific about what they were saying.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cmjjjg8drggt

jeremyp

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #118 on: June 26, 2024, 08:41:56 AM »
Another fascinating day at the hearing. I'm struggling with why Jenkins thought being an expert witness was sensible given his lack of understanding about what it meant. If anyone I worked with in IT had ever said they were going to be an expert witness, I'd have first told them don't and then tried to get them to understand if they were to do that they would have to be incredibly specific about what they were saying.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cmjjjg8drggt

The recap at your link says Jenkins didn't understand he was classed as an expert witness. I'd be amazed if I was being asked to testify on a system that I helped build and was classified as an expert witness. Can you say "conflict of interest"?
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Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #119 on: July 18, 2024, 02:45:25 PM »
More head shaking. Whether it's a specific failing of Ed Davey, or built in to having govt ministers with little knowledge of their remits, it underlines that there is little accountability in govt.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce786npwdgkt
« Last Edit: July 18, 2024, 02:48:16 PM by Nearly Sane »

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #120 on: July 19, 2024, 06:20:02 PM »
Not saying what Swinson says is wrong but it's very much a big girl did it and ran away, meanwhile I didn't do my job


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ngr82zedxo

jeremyp

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #121 on: July 25, 2024, 09:11:57 AM »
Not saying what Swinson says is wrong but it's very much a big girl did it and ran away, meanwhile I didn't do my job


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ngr82zedxo

Interesting how we expect everybody involved to be omniscient.
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Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #122 on: July 25, 2024, 10:55:29 AM »
Interesting how we expect everybody involved to be omniscient.
I think it's more that if we take the statements of ministers as correct then the idea of responsibility and accountability is just a fiction. To be fair, that's always a question with ministers being changed so frequently, and appointed to areas in which they have no expertise and knowledge.

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #123 on: July 25, 2024, 12:58:41 PM »
Vince Cable pointing out that there is not enough understanding of computers and systems in public life, which I agree with. I'm not sure his solution will work if ministers responsible for areas don't understand computers and systems. It's also worth pointing out that there were plenty of people involved at Fujitsu who did understand.

Nearly Sane

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Re: Horizon scandal: Call for all Post Office convictions to be overturned
« Reply #124 on: July 30, 2024, 02:03:41 PM »
Looks like progress on the compensation scheme.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51yd9qg7qyo