EXPLAINED: The Post Office Wrongful Convictions Scandal | Nick Wallis – Blog

John Atkins

Thank goodness Private Eye never gave up on covering this for years. Without Private Eye, many more would have been abused. Is there any reason the Times wasn’t there?
Celtic Meltdown
This is awful to hear this happened 😢. I hope everyone feels a bit of healing after this but, damn?!
Richard Mann
National disgrace, people behind this should pay personally compensation out of their own pockets & assets & look at stiff prison sentences.
Victor James
I remember an incident (a good few years back) in a small Post Office that I used randomly, a loud argument had ensued, a young chap had been sacked over stealing, he kept denying the theft, and looked around for help, and kept asking his manager to double-check, but as customers no one knew what had happened, the crowd all felt as if he was guilty, so sadly did I … but now I’m wondering if this was the cause?
marc Cameron
So let me get this straight!! The post office knew that the system was not working correctly and they still prosecuted innocent people?
Mark Harris
It is not fashionable to invoke the Ten Commandments, but the ninth one (one of the few which remain crimes) says “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. Plainly and simply, person or persons in the boardroom bore false witness, and thus perverted the course of justice (as is the quaint, current euphemism).
Stephen Cook
I had a customer who worked at the local sub-Post Office. I was also a customer at the Post Office. She was a delightful lady, full of joy and very outgoing. She totally changed when she was accused and sacked. She became withdrawn and of course couldn’t get another job. It was so sad to see her struggling to make her pittance cover her basic food needs, having to put things back because she hadn’t got enough to cover an item like a loaf of bread. Nothing will repay her personal loss and the suffering she and her family went through.
BLISSFUL SERVANT
Pure evil. Clearly the monies were not stolen so how is it they did not realise this.
Thruknobulax II
After 20-odd years working for GPO (as was), he was sub-office owner/manager for another 20-odd years. He retired just before the introduction of this system, and thankfully he was never in any trouble with them. But I can clearly remember the particular shade of gray that he used to turn, even at the mere mention of the I.B. Department. An accusation was usually enough to convict you, was his observation.
patrick connor
Will the directors blah blah blah… NO, nothing will occur. Directors have moved on to cushy, well paid jobs elsewhere. Disgusting…but typical of the uk nowadays…
Graham Busby
We’ve just listened to Nick and two of those involved, at Bath Publishing’s event. This dreadful scandal needs to be kept in the “news” although I note no reporting of Sir Wyn Williams’ enquiry for some days.v
Red One
The awful people responsible will sleep easy. A meeting in the boardroom with cakes and coffee will result in a number of middle managers and lower paid IT workers being sacked. This will be in order to keep everyone happy and their greedy way of life intact.
Jim Campbell
The thumbs-up is for reporting this atrocity
London Journo
Paula Vennells gets it in the neck a lot, and rightly so. But this all began back in 1999 when Horizon was first installed. Who else was in charge during that time, at the Post Office, but also at Fujitsu? This scandal spanned three different decades after all.
Mary Wilson
This happened to us it cost us our marriage and we lost our sons and at times I felt like killing myself
MattitudePlays
I can only imagine how terrifying, depressing and soul destroying it must be to be not only be called a theif but to not be able to defend yourself. How did it take 20 years nearly to sort this out? Usually when money is stolen it has to be somewhere that can be attributed to the “criminal”. What did they think these average working class people did to embezzle hundreds of thousands of pounds into the financial system?
the dude
In they were aware , they should go to prison, no doubt
Big pants
Paula Vennels walks away with £m’s into the sunset. Tragic to learn this.
Google Account12
Computer Error…hmmm