UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been told his government may have to stump up more than the £1bn already set aside to address the Post Office scandal, amid warnings that hundreds more victims may have fallen through the cracks.Lawyers told The Independent that hundreds of subpostmasters who have yet to make claims may be too “traumatised” to come forward because of mistrust in the government and Post Office.It came as No 10 admitted that only around one-third of the postmasters forced to shell out huge sums over the Horizon IT debacle will accept the £75,000 payment now offered by the government.Campaigners insist that it is not nearly enough for the thousands of Post Office branch managers who lost out financially by repaying fake shortfalls, even if they were not among the victims given criminal convictions during the saga.Terry Wilcox of the Hudgells Solicitors firm representing former subpostmasters said around 2,700 had made compensation claims, but many more victims were yet to come forward.He told The Independent: “We’ve been approached by more than 150 new clients since the ITV drama aired. There could well be hundreds more. There are people who paid the shortfall and disappeared. We just have no idea where the bottom line is.”Rishi Sunak gives an update on the Post Office scandal at PMQs on Wednesday Mr Wilcox said the government needed to provide “adequate compensation”, whatever the cost.The law firm is pushing for a new, independent figurehead to deal with compensation claims – someone able to demand that the Post Office contacts all former sub-postmasters to say they may be eligible.“People are traumatised and cynical. We need someone independent of government to reach out to people and help them find the inner-strength,” said Mr Wilcox.The Post Office has already conceded it owes compensation to thousands of subpostmasters who were not convicted but were forced to pay back these incorrect shortfalls – with 2,700 people so far offered an average of around £44,000 in compensation.Campaigning Tory peer James Arbuthnot said there was “no doubt about it at all” that there were more victims. He added: “I would expect it will be hundreds, but I would be surprised if it was thousands.”Asked if the £1bn Downing Street confirmed on Thursday it had set aside to pay compensation was enough, Lord Arbuthnot said: “It may be or it may not be. But this will cost what it will cost. It is a British debt to the subpostmasters and the UK must pay. And the extent to which it gets it back from Fujitsu is a secondary matter.”Labour MP Kevan Jones said: “It is quite clear in the last week that more people are coming forward. I would urge anyone who has been affected by Horizon, or indeed the pre-Horizon [pilot] scheme, to come forward.”Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more. There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to those not convicted but affected by the scandal.Alan Bates, the campaigning subpostmaster who inspired the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, has warned that those with larger claims – above the £75,000 on offer – still had to have their case resolved.One former subpostmistress in Newcastle, who lost her life savings when she repaid a fake shortfall, gave an emotional interview on Thursday warning that the government’s new offer of £75,000 “just doesn’t cut it”.Sarah Burgess-Boyd, who was acquitted of theft at a trial in 2011, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have lost everything. I’ve lost my business, all my savings.“I haven’t got a penny to my name,” she said, her voice strained with emotion as she fought back tears. “I’m not future-proofed. I’m nearly 60, I have no pension provision. I’ve lost my reputation – l lost everything.”No 10 admitted on Thursday that a “significant number” of the subpostmasters involved in legal action against the Post Office will not accept the £75,000 offered by the government.The prime minister’s spokesperson told reporters: “We would estimate that around a third of individuals would take that … We recognise that there will be a significant number for whom £75,000 is not sufficient. That’s entirely understandable.”Asked about the process for seeking a higher figure, the No 10 spokesperson said an independent panel would review the claim with no involvement by the Post Office. More

“Vile, misogynistic comments” are putting women and girls off participating in sport, a Labour minister has said.Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday (11 January), shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire said every sports organisation should have a strategy to tackle sexual harassment and abuse.She added: “Unfortunately there’s been a spate in recent weeks of disgusting sexist, misogynistic abuse directed towards sports women just for being at the top of their game.”It comes after sports minister Stuart Andrew condemned “dangerous” comments made by Joey Barton about female football commentators and pundits and said he will take the issue up with social media platforms. More

A Post Office investigator has denied claims he and others “behaved like Mafia gangsters” who were looking to collect “bounty with the threats and lies” from subpostmasters.Stephen Bradshaw, who has been employed at the Post Office since 1978, did however tell the inquiry he was not “technically minded” and was not equipped to know whether there were bugs or errors in the Horizon system.He submitted a witness statement to the Horizon IT inquiry in which he said: “I refute the allegation that I am a liar.”“I am not technically minded, I would expect that to come from people above,” Mr Bradshaw said on reports of issues with the IT system.“If there was an issue, I would expect Fujitsu to inform the Post Office, and the Post Office to let us know what the issues are.” More

Shoppers should consider buying “two or three bottles” of Australian wine to “show solidarity” with the nation, an MP has said.Sir Charles Walker made the suggestion as he faced questions about what steps are being taken to increase purchases, after China imposed particularly punishing tariffs on the product, damaging their industry.MPs heard Australian wine is represented on the House of Commons wine list, with a chardonnay and a shiraz available.“When we’re all out in the supermarket stocking our own shelves, perhaps we should all be mindful to buy two or three bottles of Australian wine to show solidarity with our Australian friends and growers,” Sir Charles said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailArtificial intelligence could replace thousands of civil service jobs in fraud detection, a Cabinet Office minister has said.Alex Burghart also said the technology could become the “institutional memory” of Government departments with a high staff turnover.The minister was discussing the ongoing work to look at where AI can be used to improve efficiency, detect fraud, reduce error and increase productivity in Whitehall.You can certainly envisage a future in which you have a smaller civil service than you have todayParliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office Alex BurghartAsked what this means for the civil service workforce, he told a Centre for Policy Studies event: “We may not need to employ thousands of people to do fraud detection in the future.“I hope we don’t. I hope that that’s something that we can make infinitely easier and cheaper for the British public…“As we master this technology, you can certainly envisage a future in which you have a smaller civil service than you have today.”The Tory MP for Brentwood and Ongar also spoke of the development of an AI red box, in which ministers receive important papers.“What it does is it can read documents that go into your red box, it can summarise them, it can highlight connections between papers, connections between previous papers.“And over time, as we fine-tune this model, it will become, I believe, the institutional memory of the department.”Staff in the Cabinet Office “don’t always stay that long,” he said, meaning the loss of people who remember “things that happened three, four or five years ago”.“But with an effective AI red box, that won’t be a problem,” he added. “We will be able to retain the experiences of previous policies and previous successes.”The digital ministerial briefcase is being used by several ministers while it is being fine-tuned, and once ready will be offered to all colleagues, he said.The hope is that before long, the technology can also be used to summarise MPs’ statements in the Commons and spare the time officials spend on administrative work.Mr Burghart said: “We’re building these systems right now that we hope will enable us to go to the Treasury for the Budget in spring and say, ‘we are starting to prove the potential of these systems in Whitehall and help us go further’.”The panel discussion in central London came against the backdrop of intense political focus on the Post Office scandal, with the errors of the Horizon software doing nothing to boost public trust in big tech systems.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is eager for the UK to be a key player in AI regulation, having hosted world leaders and industry figures at Bletchley Park for the world’s first AI Safety Summit in November. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Post Office investigator has denied claims he and others “behaved like Mafia gangsters” who tried to collect “bounty” from subpostmaster victims with threats and lies.The public inquiry has resumed its probe into how hundreds of Post Office branch managers were convicted of swindling money on the basis Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT accounting system.The hearings comes as Rishi Sunak comes under pressure to end Fujitsu’s government contracts, after announcing hundreds of postmasters would have convictions overturned under blanket legislation.And justice secretary Alex Chalk has said IT giant Fujitsu should repay the “fortune” spent on compensation if it is found culpable at the inquiry.Investigator Stephen Bradshaw told the inquiry that he denied the allegation “that I am a liar”, and said he was not “technically” equipped to know whether there were bugs in the Horizon system.The inquiry heard a statement by Jacqueline McDonald – who claimed she was “bullied” by Mr Bradshaw during a probe into her alleged £50,000 shortfall. She also accused Post Office investigators of “behaving like Mafia gangsters”.Ms McDonald pleaded guilty to theft after an audit found there had been a shortfall of over £94,000. In her interview with Mr Bradshaw, Ms McDonald was accused by the investigator of telling him a “pack of lies”.Post Office investigator Stephen Bradshaw arrives at public inquiry The counsel to the inquiry Julian Blake said the witness’s words sounded “somewhat like language you might see in a 1970s television detective show”.Responding to Ms McDonald’s allegations of his aggressive behaviour in his witness statement, Mr Bradshaw said: “I refute the allegation that I am a liar.”He added: “I also refute the claim that Jacqueline McDonald was bullied … Ms Jacqueline McDonald is also incorrect in stating Post Office investigators behaved like Mafia gangsters looking to collect their bounty with the threats and lies.”Throughout his witness statement, Mr Bradshaw said his investigations had been conducted in a “professional” manner.The investigator – employed by the Post Office since 1978 – told the inquiry he was not “technically minded” and was not equipped to know whether there were bugs or errors in the Horizon system.The witness began giving evidence on Thursday after being involved in the criminal investigation of nine subpostmasters, including Lisa Brennan, a former counter clerk at a post office in Huyton, near Liverpool, who was falsely accused of stealing £3,000 in 2003.Mr Bradshaw has also been accused by subpostmistress Rita Threlfall of asking her for the colour of her eyes and what jewellery she wore before saying: “Good, so we’ve got a description of you for when they come”, during her interview in August 2010.Toby Jones played campaigning subpostmaster Alan Bates in ITV drama The investigator said any knowledge of flaws with Fujitsu’s Horizon software not been “cascaded down” to investigators from the IT giant or the Post Office board.“I had no reason to suspect at the time that there was anything wrong with the Horizon system because we’d not been told,” said Mr Bradshaw.But he admitted that he had been told by colleagues about newspaper articles highlighting problems with the Horizon system, and has seen emails discussing potential issues, since 2010.Mr Bradshaw said a 2012 statement signed by him declaring the Post Office’s “absolute confidence” in the Horizon IT system was written by lawyers from the law firm Cartwright King.Asked if it was appropriate for him to declare “confidence” in the system, he said: “In hindsight…there probably should have been another line stating, ‘These are not my words’.”It has also emerged that investigators were handed cash bonuses for every conviction of a branch manager during the scandal.Rishi Sunak has revealed plan for legislation to overturn convictions Alan Bates – the campaigning subpostmaster who featured in the ITV drama on the scandal – condemned the “horrendous” culture of financial rewards.Gary Thomas – a former member of the Post Office security team between 2000 and 2012 – told the public inquiry there were “bonus objectives” for investigators. Asked if influenced his actions, he said: “I’d probably be lying if I said no.”Another former Post Office investigator Dave Posnett told the inquiry last month that bonuses were partly based on the sums of money recovered once subpostmasters had been convicted. Mr Posnett said “everyone within the security team was on a bonus, depending on their own objectives”.The justice secretary has said that Mr Sunak’s government will want to “secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer” if the inquiry delivers a damning verdict on the firm behind the faulty software.“If the scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine, then I simply would want to secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer,” Mr Chalk told ITV’s Peston.No 10 also said that the Sunak government “fully intends” to make Fujitsu foot the bill for the scandal if the IT giant is found culpable.Justice secretary Alex Chalk suggested Fujitsu should pay towards the Post Office compensationMr Sunak said on Wednesday that innocent people embroiled in the fiasco would be “swiftly exonerated and compensated” with legislation overturning more than 700 convictions.Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more if they go through a process of having their claim individually assessed.There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to those not convicted by affected by the scandal – including those who lost money by paying the sums allegedly stolen out of their own pocket. No 10 admitted on Thursday that a “significant number” of the postmasters involved in legal action against the Post Office will not accept the £75,000 offered by the government.The PM’s spokesman told reporters: “We would estimate that around a third of individuals would take that … We recognise that there will be a significant number for whom £75,000 is not sufficient. That’s entirely understandable.”Asked about the process for seeking a higher figure, the No 10 spokesman said an independent panel would review the claim with no involvement by the Post Office. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIT giant Fujitsu should repay the “fortune” spent on the Post Office scandal if it is found culpable, justice secretary Alex Chalk has said.No 10 said on Thursday that Rishi Sunak’s government “fully intends” to make Fujitsu foot the bill for the scandal if the IT giant behind the faulty Horizon software is found culpable.And Mr Chalk said the government will want to “secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer” if the public inquiry delivers a damning verdict on the firm.It comes as a Post Office investigator described as having a “heavy footprint” is due to give evidence for the inquiry’s first hearing of the year on Thursday.Mr Sunak announced that hundreds of subpostmasters in England and Wales would have their names cleared by the end of the year under blanket legislation to be introduced within weeks.And Mr Chalk suggested that Fujitsu will have to foot a large part of the compensation bill if the inquiry finds the “scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine”.The prime minister is facing calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing government contracts and pursue the firm for payments.Mr Chalk said the government would wait for the conclusions of the inquiry, chaired by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, before it decides what action to take against the company.Justice secretary Alex Chalk has offered warning to Fujitsu “But bluntly, if the scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine, then I simply would want to secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer,” the cabinet minister told ITV’s Peston.“It’s absolutely right that there should be justice across the piece – yes for the subpostmasters which we’re talking about today – but frankly also for the taxpayer. This has cost and will cost a fortune.”If Fujitsu is found to be at fault, it “should face the consequences”, Mr Chalk added, in a sign ministers could launch legal action against the Japanese company.Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake also told BBC Newsnight that it would be “only right” for Fujitsu to contribute to compensation bill if the inquiry finds it bears a lot of the responsibility for the scandal.Mr Sunak’s spokesman said on Thursday that the government did not want to “cut across” the public inquiry, but added: “We fully intend, should culpability be found with individuals or businesses, to hold them to account.”Post Office showed ‘incompetence and malevolence’, says ministerHundreds of Post Office branch managers were convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the tech giant’s flawed Horizon accounting system.Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more if they go through a process of having their claim individually assessed.There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to those not convicted by affected by the scandal – including those who lost money by paying the sums allegedly stolen out of their own pocket. Ministers are setting aside up to £1bn for compensation. Mr Hollinrake explained in the Commons that the victims would be eligible for compensation simply by signing a declaration that they hadn’t committed any crime.Alan Bates – the former subpostmaster on whom the recent ITV series centre – said it was “about time” for the move to exonerate Post Office staff – but warned that “the devil is in the detail” when it comes to the government’s legislation.Toby Jones played former subpostmaster Alan Bates in the ITV drama But asked if he would be celebrating the victory, the 69-year-old told The Times “you must be joking” as he and many others are yet to receive final compensation.Mr Bates told The Mirror: “£75,000 is an alternative to having your case independently assessed, so for the smaller cases, it will probably suffice. But for many cases, it is not enough.”It emerged that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted three Post Office cases while Sir Keir Starmer was in charge. The Labour leader told reporters: “I wasn’t aware of any of them.”Ministers have acknowledged the radical plan of a law to enforce mass exoneration could result in some subpostmasters who did commit crimes being wrongly cleared – but insisted the process was the most effective way of dealing with the vast majority who were victims.Lord Ken MacDonald, the former director of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it amounted to “parliament seizing from the courts and from the judges … I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.”Fujitsu’s continued involvement in major IT schemes has raised concerns. Ministers tried to prevent the firm getting more official work but this proved “impossible” despite its “woeful” performance, a Tory peer revealed on Wednesday.Lord Maude, who served as Cabinet Office minister under David Cameron, said procurement rules thwarted ministers’ efforts. He said if Fujitsu had “any sense of honour” it would swiftly make a significant payment towards the compensation packages.The public inquiry, whose first hearing of the year on Thursday will feature Post Office investigator Stephen Bradshaw, is set to keep the scandal in the headlines.Mr Bradshaw has been described as having a “heavy footprint” in the scandal after being involved in the criminal investigation of nine subpostmasters. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightLabour is on course for a 50-100 seat majority, a former cabinet secretary and Blair adviser has predicted, as Brexit voters turn to Sir Keir Starmer.Voters in Brexit-backing coastal seats have swung back behind the Labour Party after supporting Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019, new polling shows.Lord O’Donnell, who ran the civil service under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, said Labour’s majority after this year’s election could be up to 100 seats.“If you look at the evidence the polling says there’s been a consistent Labour lead of 18 points, roughly, for a long time now,” he told the BBC’s Today podcast.Keir Starmer is on course for a majority of up to 100 seats, Lord O’Donnell has said “I’m in the 50-100 seat majority if I had to put on it,” he added.But Lord O’Donnell urged his civil service colleagues to “prepare for all possible outcomes”.“Do not assume… one of the reasons I think the prime minister is deciding to wait is that things could change,” he said.His comments came as a poll by think tank Labour Together showed that coastal voters back Labour over the Tories by a margin of 44 per cent to 24 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats on 11 per cent.Coastal communities, those within five miles of the sea, have disproportionately backed winning causes over the last 40 years, with three-quarters supporting Margaret Thatcher in 1987 before Tony Blair doubled Labour’s number of seaside seats in 1997.Most coastal seats supported Brexit and around 70 per cent voted Conservative in 2019.That position now appears to have reversed again, with Labour enjoying a net favourability rating of 7 per cent among coastal voters, while the Tories have slumped to minus 32 per cent.The results of the survey represent a boost for Labour in an area recently described by centre-right think tank Onward as “the forgotten battleground that could decide the next election”.Josh Williams, director of strategy at Labour Together, said: “Where the coast goes, the country follows.”Take a look at the polls now and the story is clear: the tide is turning, and the Tories are at risk of being swept away.”Addressing the general election, expected in October this year, Lord O’Donnell said: “Three factors that are difficult are, how much tactical voting will there be? I think quite a lot and that helps Labour. How much will Reform take away from the Tories? That helps Labour. And Scotland – clearly the collapse of the SNP helps Labour.”Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are trailing Labour by around 20 points in the polls His intervention is the latest dire warning for the Tories, with Rishi Sunak’s party trailing Labour by around 20 points in the polls.Lord O’Donnell also took a swipe at the UK’s elections, saying First Past the Post voting system means Britain is “not a very good example of democracy”.“You can get a lot of votes and not get anywhere… if you have a more proportional system he [Nigel Farage] who got his four million votes [in 2015] would deliver him something more [than one constituency],” he added. More