A sub-postmaster victim of faulty Horizon IT software has been described as a “bluffer” when he alerted senior Post Office officials to bugs in the system.
One of the Post Office’s legal heads, Rodric Williams, dismissed the complainant and told the Post Office Horizon Inquiry on Thursday that there was a “bunker mentality” among staff regarding media coverage of the IT system.
The inquiry has been hearing evidence to examine who in government and the Post Office knew what and when about the accounting program that falsely generated financial losses at the Post Office branches across the UK and led to the conviction of hundreds of subpostmasters who ran branches for theft and false accounting.
As a result of Horizon’s errors, many other subpostmasters lost homes, left their communitiesand fell ill after incurring significant debt and having their reputations ruined.
Read more
Review requested in another Correios IT system
Horizon victim demands prison for those who denied him justice
But in 2015 – while lawsuits over Horizon data were ongoing and four years before the Postal Service apologized for the miscarriage of justice – former Deputy Postmaster General Tim McCormack’s warnings were dismissed.
“Generally, my opinion is that this guy is a bluffer, who expects us to follow his beat,” Williams — who is now tasked with handling Horizon complaints — said in an email to colleagues.
“I don’t think we should do that, but rather respond with a direct blow.”
The lawyer was asked by former chief executive Paula Vennells to investigate, which McCormack said was “clear and unquestionable evidence of an intermittent bug in Horizon which can and does cause thousands of pounds of losses to subpostmasters”.
Post Office Scandal: Davey ‘Sorry’
‘Bunker mentality’
Williams agreed that there was an element of siege mentality at the Post Office against media questioning.
“I don’t know if I can speak for senior management, but I think certainly where I was sitting it felt like a bunker mentality, yes,” he told the inquiry.
When asked by inquiry lawyer Jason Beer: “It’s that siege mentality again, Mr. Williams, isn’t it? Challenges to the Postal Service are hostile and should be avoided rather than considered on their merits.”
Williams responded, “I think maybe that’s an exaggeration, but there’s probably something in it, I think, that’s fair.”
‘Take it or leave it’
In response to a 2014 media inquiry about Horizon satisfaction levels among subpostmasters, Mr Williams effectively said they could use the system or leave.
“We don’t need to do research on Horizon – it’s the system we provide to our agents and require them to use. If agents don’t like it, they can choose not to provide us with services,” he said at the time. .
“The vast majority of our agents and other users work seamlessly with it, and we are not required to adapt our point-of-sale accounting system to the whims of each individual agent.”
He was asked if it was his opinion in 2014 that subpostmasters could use Horizon or leave, he replied “yes”.
Williams started at the organization in 2012 as a litigation attorney and still works there as head of the remediation unit created to handle sub-postmaster complaints about Horizon.
His evidence continues on Friday.
Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Vennells said: “I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry and look forward to giving evidence in the coming months.
“I truly regret the devastation caused to the subpostmasters and their families, whose lives have been torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongfully prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.
“I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the inquiry and will make no further public comment until it is completed.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
