Mudball
Assistant Pro
Fair play by Bates on not going after CEO's CBE but rather put the spotlight on the CBE process. How was the CBE awarded when this was going on and well know.
Post Office - Horizon scandal
- Thread starter Jensen
- Start date
Mudball
Assistant Pro
Shocking... There are more examples here > https://x.com/flaminhaystacks/status/1742117708777332742?s=20
Bunkermagnet
Journeyman Pro
For me now, all trust in the PO has gone. And that’s all aspects of the PO.
road2ruin
Q-School Graduate
It's horrendous. There are people covering up not just a system that resulted in financial irregularities it actually resulted, directly, in the deaths of some people. And then you have examples such as this where postmasters actually asked for help and flagged the money that they were apparently stealing.....
Lee Castleton bought a post office in Bridlington, east Yorkshire, in 2003. Within a year, his computer system showed a £25,000 shortfall He called the Post Office’s helpline 91 times as he suspected the Horizon IT system was at fault.
Helen Rose audited him and made notes at the time to say how happy he was to see the auditors and that he'd been calling them 91 times. Instead of helping him, he was taken to court by the Post Office, where he had to represent himself as he could not afford a lawyer.
Helen Rose then wrote a witness statement which omitted how happy he was to see them and how many times he'd called And Instead she wrote how he went to lunch and came back smelling of alcohol Something never mentioned originally.
Lee Castleton was ordered to repay the money and pay costs of £321,000, which bankrupted him. He was forced to close his shop and sell his house while his wife suffered stress-induced seizures and his children had to move schools because of bullying.
Calling 91 times to make people aware of the issues yet ends up taking the fall for it?! I can't imagine a single circumstance where someone fraudulently stealing money from an organisation would call a helpline on so many occasions asking to get caught. And yet he's not alone, numerous people contacted the helpline to say that they were having problems yet they're all guilty of fraud!!
Robster59
Tour Rookie
The headlines are now saying they are looking for faster justice for the victims (20 years too late), but how fast will they be in identifying the true criminals in this case. Those who hid the truth, perjured themselves, sought unlawful prosecutions and effectively lied to protect themselves and the reputation of the Post Office and Fujitsu?
Robster59
Tour Rookie
The BBC Panorama article on the scandal.
Panorama - The Post Office Scandal
Funny the government didn't make a mad rush to solve it then.
Not sure why it had to take a four part drama to do it. I guess the latter was watched more and with dramatisation and closer examination of the individuals heightened public awareness.
Panorama - The Post Office Scandal
Funny the government didn't make a mad rush to solve it then.
Not sure why it had to take a four part drama to do it. I guess the latter was watched more and with dramatisation and closer examination of the individuals heightened public awareness.
Mudball
Assistant Pro
i wonder how much of this translates to poor behaviour with posties doing their job. Very few realise that PO and Royal Mail are different cos. My postie is lovely
Neilds
Assistant Pro
Vennells is handing back her CBE, BBC just announced
road2ruin
Q-School Graduate
Now just need answers as to who was behind the decision to award it to her in the first place.
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
Hope she don’t send it back via a post office. She may get assaulted.
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Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
In a statement, Ms Vennells said: "I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.
I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the Inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
I am, however, aware of the calls from subpostmasters and others to return my CBE.
I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.
I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.
"I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the Inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded."
I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the Inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
I am, however, aware of the calls from subpostmasters and others to return my CBE.
I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.
I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.
"I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the Inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded."
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D-S
Well-known member
Staggering that she has been so deaf to the protestations and ‘devastation’ for all these years, but one tv programme in a quiet news cycle has suddenly made her question her acceptance of an honour.
bobmac
Major Champion
She's handed back her CBE...so what.
How does that help anyone?
How does that help anyone?
Golfmmad
Tour Winner
Exactly! It would have been better had the award been taken from her rather than giving it back herself.
Still she does not give "Karma" to all the sub postmasters whose lives have been ruined. Not to mention the poor suicide victims.
though thats nice, she was the Boss and should take full responsibility and face criminal charges. Top Bosses always appear to get the benefits from the top jobs, massive salary's and pay off but how often does one take any responsibility?
Robster59
Tour Rookie
I guessed she would do and I would guess more from a selfish viewpoint. She has probably been advised that it looks better giving up the CBE rather than having it taken off her. The likelihood is that she was going to lose it anyway.
It makes no difference to the enquiry, nor should it make any difference to the way she is being investigated for her part in the overall scandal.
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
It shows how bent the honours system is!
It should put pressure on the idiot who gave it to her.
Its also in my opinion an iota of acceptance of some of the blame.
bobmac
Major Champion
So the petition was successful.
It's a shame the petition wasn't about helping compensate the people who did nothing wrong.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
That’s not up to a petition - that will be up to an enquiry to sort out
Mudball
Assistant Pro
They should take her CBE and give it to Mr Bates.... that would be a good one for Sunak to talk about during his election campaign..
.. however the system feels so bent that she may have done a deal to become a Lord... i wont hold my breath
