Sewell during the Post Office inquiry
Page Description
Uncover the details of the Post Office Scandal linked to Fetter Lane and understand the historical context of
the phrase ‘hanging people out to dry.
Hang someone out to dry
Idiom disapproving
To allow someone to be punished, criticized, or made to suffer in a way that is unfair, without trying to help them.
They felt they had been hung out to dry by their employers.
He said, “We will not let the media hang this man out to dry.
Cambridge Dictionary The street ‘Fetter Lane‘ was originally called Faytor or Faiter Lane, then Fewteres Lane. This is believed to come from the Old French “faitor” meaning lawyer, though by the 14th century this had become synonymous with an idle person. Geoffrey Chaucer used the word to refer to the beggars and vagrants who were seen around the lane. An alternative origin of the name is the fetter (lance vest) made by armourers working for the nearby Knights Templar.
De straat ‘Fetter Lane‘ heette oorspronkelijk Faytor of Faiter Lane, daarna Fewteres Lane. Dit komt waarschijnlijk van het Oudfranse “faitor” dat advocaat betekent, maar in de 14e eeuw was dit synoniem geworden voor een nietsnut. Geoffrey Chaucer gebruikte het woord om te verwijzen naar de bedelaars en zwervers die in deze steeg werden gezien. Een alternatieve oorsprong van de naam is de fetter (lansvest) gemaakt door wapenmakers die voor de nabijgelegen Tempeliers werkten.
1 Post Office Scandal: BBC Breakfast talk to former subpostmasters
2 Paula Vennells was ‘lying’ about Post Office scandal, claims forensic accountant
23 jan 2024
It might have taken a drama to galvanise the response to a crisis – but the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is gradually bringing more details to light, as hundreds of victims seek justice for their ruined lives.
The inquiry will be hoping to uncover more details when it examines a series of covert recordings. This programme has obtained a summary of some of the tapes – a meeting in 2013 between Post Office executives and the independent forensic accountants brought in to investigate.
Malevolence
Profond corruption
1 Fujistu boss egged on witness to fight ‘nasty’ sub-postmaster in court, inquiry hears
Fujitsu manager described post office operator as ‘nasty chap’, inquiry hears
Peter Sewell apologises for language in email during Horizon-related prosecution that left Lee Castleton bankrupt
A Fujitsu manager described Lee Castleton, whose bankruptcy over missing Post Office funds featured in a recent television drama, as a “nasty chap” in an email urging a colleague to be strong in court, a public inquiry has heard.
Before a hearing in December 2006 in the high court in central London, where the Post Office was pursuing Castleton for a £25,000 shortage recorded by a Fujitsu accounting system, Peter Sewell contacted one of his team, Andy Dunks, who was due to give evidence.
“See you in court then,” wrote Sewell, who was a lead Fujitsu security manager. “Fetters Lane is where they used to hang people out to dry. I don’t suppose that type of thing happens any more though.
“That Castleton is a nasty chap and will be all out to rubbish the Fujitsu name. It’s up to you to maintain absolute strength and integrity no matter what the prosecution throw at you. We will all be behind you hoping you come through unscathed. Bless you.”
Dunks responded: “Thank you for those very kind and encouraging words. I had to pause halfway through reading it to wipe away a small tear.”
Castleton who was played by Will Mellor in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, was being taken to court by the Post Office after the Horizon system, built by Fujitsu, falsely made it appear as though funds were missing from his outlet in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.
He had been refusing to pay the money on the basis that he had not done anything wrong, but the high court ordered Castleton in 2007 to repay the funds and cover £321,000 in legal costs, leading to his bankruptcy.
Asked on Thursday why he had been “egging on” his team member in such terms, Sewell, who knew as early as 2003 about complaints about the Horizon system, told the public inquiry into the scandal: “I don’t know why I wrote it, I apologise.”
Responding to the email chain, Castleton, 56, said he had never met Sewell or Dunks.
He said: “I only found out about the email about 20 minutes ago, when a barrister sent me a screenshot. I don’t know either of the people mentioned in the email – and I would have thought you would need to meet someone to make a judgment like that.
“Let’s face it, we know exactly what kind of people we are dealing with, it’s a group of people who tried to ruin me, so in that sense it doesn’t surprise me.
“Hanging me out to dry? That is exactly what they did to me and that is the ethos of both companies [Fujitsu and Post Office].”
Earlier in the day Fujitsu, which makes more than £100m a year from government work, wrote to the government to say it would not bid for further Whitehall contracts while the inquiry, led by the retired high court judge Sir Wyn Williams, continued.
Alex Burghart, a Cabinet Office minister, told the Commons: “This morning [the] Cabinet Office received a letter from Fujitsu voluntarily undertaking not to bid for government contracts whilst the inquiry is ongoing, unless of course the government ask them to.”
The government has begun discussions with Fujitsu on its potential contribution to compensating wrongfully convicted post office operators.
Fujitsu should be on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds in redress
David Davis, the Conservative former cabinet minister, called on companies such as Fujitsu to be blocked from bidding for future government contracts on the basis of having “terrible track records”.
Burghart said: “There are clearly defined circumstances in which the government can exclude companies from bidding for contracts.”
The Post Office inquiry heard on Thursday that Fujitsu knew from 2008 that its witness statements relating to prosecutions of post office operators were not accurate.
Changes to the computing system were ruled out due to cost and lack of resources.
An internal report dated 2009 suggested that Fujitsu’s reputation was among the issues the company was taking into account as the truth emerged about the “endemic” problems.
After the problems were broached with the Post Office later in 2009, it rejected a suggestion that one witness statement due to be heard in court be rewritten to refer to at least one of the incidents where faulty records had been produced by the system.
“Why inform anyone about a problem we’ve had within the network but possibly only at one branch, if it bears no relation or relevance?” wrote David Posnett, a Post Office investigator.
Prosecutions only came to an end in 2014. The UK government is legislating to exonerate all 900 people in England and Wales convicted on the basis of Horizon evidence. On Thursday, Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, said his government was working on its own legislation to exonerate those wrongly convicted.
John Crace
Guardian columnist
The article from The Guardian
It sheds more light on the context in which the expression “Fetters Lane is where they used to hang people out to dry” was used.
In this case, it seems that Peter Sewell, a lead Fujitsu security manager, used this metaphorical language in an email
to encourage a colleague, Andy Dunks, who was due to give evidence in a court case involving a sub-postmaster, Lee Castleton.
The email suggests that Castleton was viewed negatively, with Sewell describing him as a “nasty chap” and expressing concern about him attempting to tarnish Fujitsu’s name during the court proceedings.
The metaphorical use of “Fetters Lane is where they used to hang people out to dry” is likely intended to convey a sense of harsh judgment and potential public scrutiny. Castleton, who was involved in a dispute with the Post Office over missing funds related to the Horizon system built by Fujitsu, faced legal and financial consequences.
It’s important to note that this language is part of a specific context and legal proceedings, and the metaphorical expressions used in the email may not reflect actual historical events on Fetter Lane but rather serve to emphasize the severity of the situation from Sewell’s perspective.
3 Post Office Board knew about Horizon system flaws and exclusive document show insurers were alerted
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18 jan 2024
As the Post Office Inquiry continues to hear testimony, more and more details are coming to light about who knew what when.
Back in 2019, the Post Office spent at least a-hundred-million pounds still defending the Horizon system when more than five hundred subpostmasters won their landmark settlement.
Tonight, we’ve seen documents that appear to show that the Post Office Board was aware of the Horizon system’s failures back in 2013 – indeed it was so worried about a potential miscarriage of justice that it alerted its insurers.
4 ‘Suicide Crossed My Mind’ – Post Office Scandal Victim Forced To Declare Bankruptcy Over Legal War
24 jan 2024
A TalkTV investigation has exclusively revealed the law firm representing the Post Office during the Horizon scandal was paid £37.5m.
London-based Womble Bond Dickinson represented the Post Office against civil class action from former subpostmaster Alan Bates in 2017.
And one victim of the scandal told TalkTV this morning how millions of pounds of taxpayers money were still being thrown at such costs.
Lee Castleton had to declare bankruptcy as a result of his legal battle.
“Four people took their own lives, I admit it crossed my mind too.”
Fujitsu’s European boss has described the editing of witness statements to defend the Horizon IT system that were used in the prosecutions of subpostmasters as “shameful”.
Paul Patterson told the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry that he was “surprised” that details of bugs, errors and defects (BEDs) in the scandal-hit software were not included in witness statements for criminal proceedings against subpostmasters.
He admitted that BEDs had existed in the system for “nearly two decades” and said the “vast majority” had been shared with the Post Office contemporaneously, adding that they were “well known to all parties”.
Mr Patterson said Fujitsu staff had known of bugs in the Horizon system since 1999.
He told the hearing that the technology giant had “clearly let society down and the subpostmasters down” as a result of the Horizon scandal.
5 Post Office scandal investigators accused of ‘Mafia-style’ bullying of subpostmasters
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11 jan 2024
A former Post Office investigator has told the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal that he and his colleagues did not “behave like mafia gangsters”.
Stephen Bradshaw admitted he had been aware of problems with the IT software, but claimed he was “not technically minded” and was just “a liaison”.
Warning: This report contains some offensive language
At minute 7: Malevolence: the quality of causing or wanting to cause harm or evil
6 Broken Rules and 10x worse than we thought.
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16 jan 2024
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7 Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry examines ‘action against sub-postmasters’ | Tuesday, December 19
Live gestreamd op 19 dec 2023
Watch live as we bring you the latest on the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.
Phase 4 of the inquiry is examining ‘Action against sub-postmasters and others: policymaking, audits and investigations, civil and criminal proceedings, knowledge of and responsibility for failures in investigation and disclosure’.
The inquiry will hear from criminal prosecutions expert witness Duncan Atkinson KC.
Earlier this year, the government announced a new fixed sum payment of £600,000 for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation.
8 Fujitsu boss admits Horizon glitches were known of amid Post Office scandal in Select Committee
The Director of Fujitsu Services Paul Patterson was in front of the Business and Trade Committee to answer questions about the Horizon scandal. In his opening remarks, he apologised for the scandal and confessed that the company knew about glitches in the Horizon system during the prosecution of sub-postmasters.
9 Post Office ‘buried’ computer error report
“They wanted to, quote, keep it out of the public domain.” It’s “absolutely clear” that the Post Office “buried” a report which highlighted errors with the computer system, says IT consultant Jason Coyne.
10 Post Office scandal is ‘deeply instructive’ about how the UK works | LBC debate
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10 jan 2024
Iain Dale and his Cross Question panel discuss what’s next for the Post Office scandal after the company’s former boss, Paula Vennells, announced she’d be handing back her CBE with immediate effect.
Our Cross Question panel: Mims Davies (Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, and Conservative MP for Mid Sussex), Darren Jones (Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Labour MP for Bristol North West), Emma Sinclair (Tech entrepreneur – who is the chief executive of EnterpriseAlumni), Oli Dugmore (Head of News and Politics at JOE Media, and LBC presenter).
11 Former sub-postmaster struggles to find work after being ‘tarred as a fraudster’
9 jan 2024
The justice secretary is meeting with senior judges to discuss ways to accelerate the appeals of those convicted in the Horizon scandal, with cabinet minister Mel Stride saying an announcement could come soon.
Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall joined us to discuss his involvement in the 16-year-long controversy and how it affected his life.
12 Post Office Paid “This Bloody Law Firm” £37.5M When Victims Were Being Wrongly Accused
13 Alan Bates And Jo Hamilton Give Evidence At Post Office Scandal Select Committee
Live gestreamd op 16 jan 2024
MPs on the Business and Trade select committee took evidence from various stakeholders looking at the compensation for Post Office and Horizon victims.
The witness attendees included former subpostmasters Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton. Alan also founded the group Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.
14 Post Office Horizon inquiry hearings | Thursday 25 January 2024
3 uur geleden begonnen met streamen
Phase four of the Post Office Horizon inquiry continues.
Witnesses this week are being questioned on criminal investigations and prosecutions in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
David Teale, a lawyer involved in the prosecution of William Quarm, gives evidence.
Quarm was convicted and died before his name was cleared.
15 Post Office inquiry LIVE: Investigator Robert Daily gives evidence of Horizon scandal
Live gestreamd op 23 jan 2024
Evidence from Robert Daily, former Post Office investigator involved in the criminal investigation of Peter Holmes and William Quarm, as the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal continues.
16 Post Office scandal: ‘It’s been LIES and a COVER UP all along!’ | Kevan Jones
2 How the Post Office Wrongly Prosecuted Victims Over Many Years
17 Labour MP corners Post Office bosses over dodgy bonus culture in fiery Select Committee exchange
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Head honchos at the Post Office and members of their remuneration committee were in front of the Business and Trade Select Committee on Tuesday, where chair of the Committee Darren Jones absolutely rinsed them over an apparent breach of rules related to the awarding of bonuses – which can lead to years in jail if found guilty.
18 James O’Brien meets Nick Wallis | LBC
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20 jan 2024 Full Disclosure with James O’Brien
Nick Wallis was presenting the breakfast show for BBC Radio Surrey in 2010 when he was contacted by a listener with a story he’s been investigating ever since. Nick helped expose one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK legal history – the Post Office Horizon IT scandal that has devastated the lives of hundreds of innocent hardworking people across the country. His work has been published in Private Eye and broadcast on BBC Panorama, The One Show and BBC Radio 4. It is also the basis of his first book, The Great Post Office Scandal.
Tickets for his show, Post Office Scandal – the Inside Story are available at postofficescandal.uk
At minute 8:50 Numbers
At minute 35:
19 Vince Cable BLASTED Over Support For Former Post Office Boss Paula Vennells
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8 jan 2024
A petition calling for former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to lose her CBE over the Horizon scandal has attracted more than one million signatures.
Demands for the Honours Forfeiture Committee to remove her CBE have emerged again after ITV aired a new drama into the scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.
Former Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says he will not join calls for former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to lose her CBE over the Horizon scandal, “she has issued a collective apology and a very sincere apology.”
Fetter Lane is where they used to hang people out to dry. I don’t suppose that type of thing happens anymore. Though that Castelelon is a nasty Chap and will be out to rubbish the Fujistu name. It’s up to you to maintain absolute strenght and integrity no mater what the prosecution throw at you.
Background: The mention of the British Post Office Wrongful Conviction Scandal sets the stage for the discussion.
Fujitsu’s Involvement: Fujitsu, a Japanese IT firm, was involved in providing the Horizon software to the Post Office in Great Britain in 1999. The Horizon software is likely related to the scandal.
Negative Description of Post Office Operator: A Fujitsu manager is quoted as describing a post office operator as a “nasty chap.” This could be an indication of tensions or conflicts within the context of the scandal.
Fetter Lane Reference: Fetter Lane is mentioned in the context of where people were historically “hung out to dry.” This likely implies a place where individuals faced public exposure or criticism.
Concerns About Castelelon: Castelelon is referred to as a “nasty chap” who is expected to attempt to discredit or tarnish the Fujitsu name in relation to the scandal.
Encouragement to Maintain Strength and Integrity: The message concludes with advice for someone involved, suggesting that it is crucial to maintain “absolute strength and integrity” in the face of potential challenges from the prosecution.
In summary, the text appears to be advising someone connected to the British Post Office Wrongful Conviction Scandal, possibly someone associated with Fujitsu, to be prepared for attempts to damage Fujitsu’s reputation and to uphold strength and integrity despite potential challenges from the prosecution.
20 Undercover cop setup
27 mrt 2011
Clever con where people are taken in photo exchanging money for drugs. A presentation of the Just For Laughs Gags. The funny hidden camera pranks show for the whole family. Juste pour rire les gags, l’émission de caméra caché la plus comique de la télé!