A barrister representing wrongfully convicted former subpostmasters today delivered stinging criticisms of the actions and attitudes of the Post Office, Fujitsu, and the Government in his closing submissions to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.
Tim Moloney KC, of Doughty Street Chambers – instructed by Hudgell Solicitors – spoke on behalf of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters as the long-running inquiry draws to a close this week with final submissions from legal teams.
In doing so, he reminded the hearing that at the heart of the Inquiry ‘are the people whose lives have been unbearably altered by the scandal’ – as it left ‘homes and families lost and broken, savings and prospects destroyed, stability and health ruined, and reputation and dignity damaged irreparably.’
Mr Moloney made it clear the scandal had not just been limited to the period where hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted using evidence from Horizon between 1999 and 2015, but that it still goes on today as they fight for fair compensation.
He said the complexity of the various compensation schemes ‘appeared designed to deter subpostmasters from claiming compensation for losses they were entitled to pursue’ – with the process ‘re-traumatising’ for many, and leading to a growing number dying without redress.
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Who knew what and when?
Mr Maloney said:
This is a scandal founded on flawed corporate culture and repeated corporate failings, a scandal where the Post Office, with the support of Fujitsu, prioritised corporate interest, brand and messaging over a substantive consideration of risk to subpostmasters and the wider business.
The serious failings of both Post Office and Fujitsu have been humiliatingly exposed. Without errors by both; and clear failures in the oversight exercised by Government this scandal would never have happened.
A key question has always been who knew what and when. Individuals were purposefully shutting their eyes when faced with evidence that ought obviously to have been explored.
The evidence supports that throughout this scandal structural problems at both Post Office and Fujitsu aside, there were people within the business who knew, was reckless to the truth or was wilfully blind when confronted with the possibility of failures in the integrity of Horizon and that Post Office prosecution practices were deeply flawed. Horizon was seen to be too important to fail.
The Inquiry might conclude there were questions screaming to be asked. It might conclude that even when problems were known to the Post Office or to Fujitsu, that these were met with unjustifiable ignorance or wilful blindness.
This story is also about poor decisions in Government. They left the wrong people in charge at a time of existential crisis for a much loved national institution and sowed the seeds of this disaster. When things had plainly gone horribly wrong, they were slow to step in, for reasons of political expediency.
Compensation not prompt, full or fair
Turning his focus to the current position – five years after a High Court ruled that the Horizon system had been the cause of discrepancies in branch accounts, and that unsafe and unreliable evidence had been used by the Post Office to prosecute – Mr Moloney highlighted the ongoing struggles the majority face to secure full and fair compensation. He said:
For them all, engaging with the process of making their case for compensation has been personal, painful and for many, re-traumatising.
Given the commitment to compensation being full, fair and prompt, it is shocking that almost five years on from the first judgment, wrongly convicted subpostmasters continue to die without redress. Compensation has not been prompt. For many, it has so far been neither full nor fair.
The complexity of each of the schemes appeared designed to deter subpostmasters from claiming compensation for losses they were entitled to pursue.
The assessment of claims continues to see initial offers which are at best, at the very bottom of any reasonable range or, at worst, derisory. A tit for tat approach to the valuation of claims is at odds with the stated intention of Government, and more in keeping with the Post Office’s reputation for aggressive litigation conduct.
The impact of delay is not insubstantial. For many the re-traumatising impact is confirmed in expert evidence. Put simply, many awaiting compensation continue to live in poverty. Many are ageing and desperate to move on. These vulnerabilities should not be ignored or exploited.
‘It can never be allowed to happen again’
Although reflecting that the Inquiry’s role is not to identify criminal actions, he said subpostmasters ‘expect to see criminal prosecution pursued where the evidence warrants’ – and that ‘nothing prevents the Inquiry from reaching conclusions which point to there being an evidential basis for criminal investigation.’ He said:
This Inquiry – and the wider public – has seen only a glimpse of the harm which our clients and their families have lived for years.
What happened to the subpostmasters can never be allowed to happen to others again. It is not acceptable for decent, hard-working people of good character to be collateral damage in the pursuit of commercial imperatives.
Their value must be recognised. The value of what they do must be recognised. ‘High net worth’ should not just be viewed as how much money a person has. It should be measured by what worth the person is to the community in which they live; the contribution to the lives of others; to education, to healthcare, to the arts and security. The role of subpostmasters is of high net worth and should be treated accordingly
Although Post Office refused to hear the concerns of subpostmasters and dismissed them as “subbies” with their hands in the till who lacked passion and had lifestyle problems, this Inquiry has listened intently to them and evidence of the reasons for their plight. They are uniformly grateful for that and now await the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry.
