UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPost Office investigators were handed cash bonuses for every conviction of a branch manager during the Horizon IT scandal.Former staff have told the public inquiry that bonus incentives played a key role in one of Britain’s worst-ever miscarriages of justice.Alan Bates – the campaigning subpostmaster who featured in the ITV drama on the scandal – condemned the “horrendous” culture of financial rewards.It follows Rishi Sunak’s announcement that hundreds of subpostmasters would have convictions overturned under blanket legislation to be introduced within weeks.And justice secretary Alex Chalk has said IT giant Fujitsu should repay the “fortune” spent on compensation if it is found culpable at the public inquiry.At least 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the tech giant’s flawed Horizon accounting system.It has emerged that 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.Alan Bates was played by Toby Jones in recent ITV drama Asked if influenced his actions, he said: “I’d probably be lying if I said no because … it was part of the business, the culture of the business of recoveries or even under the terms of a postmaster’s contract with the contracts manager.”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”.Mr Bates told The Telegraph the Post Office has a bonus culture “running right through it”. The campaigner added: “It’s pretty appalling. It’s horrendous. There seems to be a culture in it and that’s got to be called into question at some point.”Meanwhile, having another a legislative plan to overturn convictions en mass, Mr Sunak is now facing calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing government contracts and pursue the firm for payments.Sunak announced plan for legislation to offer mass exonerationThe 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.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.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.There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to many of the 700 or so affected, as Mr Sunak said innocent people embroiled in the fiasco would be “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.Mr 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.Justice secretary Alex Chalk said Fujitsu should pay towards the Post Office compensationIt has also 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.”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.He was 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 fellow Merseyside 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 under caution in August 2010. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Liberal Democrats have asked media regulator Ofcom to investigate GB News over its criticism of Sir Ed Davey over the Post Office scandal.The channel’s presenters – including Nigel Farage and for Tory cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg – have launched a series of attacks on the Lib Dem leader for his role as former postal minister.The Lib Dems have alleged that the broadcaster has breached accuracy and impartiality rules with its “appalling” commentary on Sir Ed. In a letter to Ofcom Melanie Dawes, the party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper highlighted a series of claims made by Mr Farage about the Lib Dem leader.“I was appalled to watch Nigel Farage, the chairman of Reform, launch a fictitious monologue about leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, with a number of factual inaccuracies,” Ms Cooper said.She added: “The Liberal Democrats were offered no right of reply. This therefore breaches both the accuracy and impartiality elements of the Ofcom code.”Sir Ed Davey has been under pressure over his role as postal minister between 2010 and 2012, after it emerged that he initially refused to meet campaigning subpostmaster Alan Bates.Sir Ed Davey has been under pressure over his former role as postal minister Mr Farage said on his Tuesday programme that he does not believe that Sir Ed could survive the scandal – and accused him of acting “shamefully” as a minister.The Lib Dems also flagged programmes involving former Conservative cabinet minister Mr Rees-Mogg – attacking them for failing to mention the Tory party’s role in the Horizon scandal.Ms Cooper highlighted the Conservative government oversaw the CBE given to former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells, and had been responsible for the slow process of compensating victims.She said Mr Rees-Mogg had taken aim “political leaders from other parties about the scandal, whilst not mentioning his own party’s role in this devastating miscarriage of justice”.The senior Lib Dem added: “Conservative MPs hired by GB News have been entirely silent on these matters, resulting in a wholly one-sided and partisan portrayal of a major political controversy.”“Farage, Rees-Mogg and [Lee] Anderson cannot be trusted to report on this issue fairly and accurately, as your code requires,” she wrote. “We urgently need an investigation into whether GB News is breaching your impartiality and accuracy rules.”Liberal Democrat MPs have been sent a letter to send to any constituents asking about Sir Ed’s role in the Horizon scandal, according to the BBC.It tells the party’s politicians that if asked about his role, they should explain that “the scandal took place over many years from 1999, during which time different governments and ministers from all parties were in post”.Sir Ed has said he “deeply regrets not realising that the Post Office was lying to him” and accused bosses of unleashing a “conspiracy of lies” when he asked questions about Horizon.Meanwhile, some politicians in Sir Ed’s Kingston and Surbiton seat are said to be in talks about putting Yvonne Tracey – a deputy manager of a Post Office branch – up against him at the next general election.In a message of social media, the local independent councillor said: “Come the next election, it’s incumbent on those seeking justice for our sub-postmasters to stand against Ed.” More

A Tory MP has challenged Gary Lineker to stand at the next election amid a feud with the BBC star.Jonathan Gullis last month criticised the Match of the Day presenter for signing an open letter against the Rwanda bill, claiming it breached the broadcaster’s impartiality rules.The former footballer then hit back on X, saying the MP had not read the new social media guidelines and suggested he couldn’t read.Mr Gullis on Wednesday (10 January) threw down an election challenge to Mr Lineker as he was asked about the row on Sky News.He said he would “absolutely” beat the presenter in his constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North, saying they should “let the public decide”. More

Rishi Sunak has announced plans for new legislation to clear the names of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted because of faulty accounting software.The prime minister said the Post Office Horizon scandal was “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.Blanket legislation to exonerate subpostmasters convicted in England and Wales will be introduced within weeks.The scale of the scandal has prompted the government to adopt the unconventional approach of new legislation, rather than requiring individuals to challenge their convictions.Here, The Independent takes a look at the key questions around the scandal. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has denied his plan to bring in supervised toothbrushing of young children in schools amounts to nanny state politics.The Labour leader said the Conservatives should be ashamed of the decline in some health outcomes for British children – suggesting that it amounted to criminal neglect.Defending Labour plans to introduce supervised toothbrushing at free breakfast clubs, Sir Keir said tooth decay should be consigned to the history books.He also vowed to boost dental services to ensure children can get appointments when they need one – part of plan to create the “healthiest and happiest generation of children” ever in Britain.But the announcement drew criticism from teaching unions, with leaders saying it is “not the role of teachers to be making sure children brush their teeth each day”.Asked by reporters if supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds was nanny state politics, Sir Keir said: “We want to encourage good parenting, but I don’t think we can just turn our back on it.”He added: “When I first read the statistic that for six to 10-year-olds that the biggest admission to hospitals I was really struck. That is shocking – and I don’t think you can simply say, ‘That’s none of our business.’”Starmer said he was ‘up for the fight’ on whether support for children was nanny state politicsSir Keir said that both parents and the government had a role in the wellbeing of children. “It’s saying there is a role for the state in this,” he said – adding that he was “up for that fight”.Labour analysis of OECD data shows that British children are falling behind their international counterparts when it comes to poor health outcomes.Children in the UK today are smaller than Haitian children, haver greater obesity levels than the French, and are less happy than the Turks, the figures show.Sir Keir told reporters he was “very concerned” that the height of children had fallen behind some many other countries, adding: “That is primarily down to malnutrition … it’s something the government ought to be ashamed of.”The Labour leader added: “Frankly if this was a parent who had treated children this badly – as badly as the UK government – they would probably be charged with neglect.”Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said they were relieved that supervising toothbrushing won’t be a part of the school day – but added: “We remain somewhat sceptical about how this will work in practice.”Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said free breakfast club provision was a positive development for many schools.But he added: “What is essential to the effective rollout of breakfast clubs and toothbrushing supervision, however, is sufficient funding and staffing levels. It is not at all clear who will administer these new drives.”Other aspects of Labour’s plan include introducing a 9pm watershed for junk food ads, banning vape adverts aimed at children, better access to mental health support, cutting waiting times for hospital care for children, and ensuring more dental appointments.Sir Keir said the child health action plan was fully costed and would be made “definitely [in] the first term of a Labour government – these are things we would seek to do pretty much straight away”.Andy Bell, chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, welcomed Labour’s proposals to “improve support for children and young people’s mental health”.And Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the number of children struggling with their mental health has increased “significantly” in recent years. “It is positive to see commitments being made by the Labour Party to tackle this issue and reduce NHS waiting lists.”Tory public health minister Andrea Leadsom said Sir Keir “should focus on fixing his own house before criticising others”, adding: “This is the same old Labour of more spending and more taxes.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has been dragged into the Post Office scandal after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed it had prosecuted postmasters while the Labour leader was in charge.The CPS said on Wednesday night that it prosecuted 11 cases that “involved evidence connected to Horizon” – three resulted in convictions while Sir Keir was in charge.It turns the focus of the scandal to the Labour leader, after days of outrage at former Post Office boss Paula Vennells and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey.Labour said Sir Keir was unaware of any cases being prosecuted while he was director of public prosecutions (DPP).Keir Starmer said the Post Office scandal was a ‘huge injustice’ But he has previously told Sky News that he “carries the can” for mistakes made while he was DPP. It opens the Labour leader up to questions about why he did not intervene in the cases, and attacks over his involvement in the scandal.Errors made by Horizon software, which was made by tech firm Fujitsu and used by the Post Office, led to the wrongful conviction of more than 700 people over false accounting and theft between 1999 and 2015.The renewed focus on the scandal follows the recent broadcast of ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office.Addressing the scandal in parliament, Sir Keir said: “It is a huge injustice; people lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood, and they have been waiting far too long for the truth, for justice and for compensation.” A spokesperson for the Labour leader said during his time as chief prosecutor “no cases” relating to Horizon were brought to his desk. The spokesperson said: “The scandal that’s emerged is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history and Labour has been calling for swift exoneration and compensation for the victims. “It’s vital that all action is taken to right these wrongs. Labour’s focus is on playing our part in making sure this injustice is never repeated.” During Sir Keir’s time as DPP, the CPS handled more than 4 million cases. And while the CPS said the “vast majority” of cases against postmasters were private prosecutions, it said on Wednesday it had found “a small number” of CPS cases prosecuted based on evidence connected to Horizon.A spokesperson said: “We’ve worked extensively and identified a small number of CPS cases which involved evidence connected to Horizon.“In these cases, we have written to those defendants to disclose information so they could pursue an appeal.”It argued cases involving the CPS were taken forward in good faith based on evidence provided by the Post Office and the police.In 1999, Horizon, a defective Fujitsu IT system, began incorrectly reporting cash shortfalls at Post Office branches across the country. The accusations tore people’s lives apart, with many losing their jobs and homes.Several people took their own lives due to the stress.To this day, not a single Post Office or Fujitsu employee has been held to account over the scandal, much less faced criminal investigation. At least 60 of the victims have died before finding any justice at all.But on Wednesday Rishi Sunak announced that Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted are to be exonerated.After a decades-long fight for justice, hundreds of those caught up in the scandal will have their good names restored by the end of the year under the government’s plans. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAfter weeks of mounting speculation about how the government intends to respond to the Horizon Post Office scandal, Rishi Sunak has announced the government will introduce legislation to exonerate 700 victims accused of theft and fraud.The prime minister announced the legislation on Wednesday, as well as the introduction of a new upfront payment of £75,000 in compensation to affected victims, stating that the government will “make sure that the truth comes to light”.The announcement follows calls for justice from politicians and the public following the release of ITV Drama Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, which publicised the plight of the hundreds of postmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting as a result of errors in the Post Office’s Horizon computer system. Here, we take a look at everything you need to know about the new legislation:What will the law do?Public anger over the scandal has been growing since the release of ITV drama “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake set out some of the details of how the government intends to quash at least 700 convictions of Post Office staff caught up in the Horizon scandal.Mr Hollinrake told MPs that the law is “unprecedented” but that the situation requires “exceptional circumstances” which would see victims exonerated within the year.The details of the legislation have not yet been published, but we can expect the bill “within weeks” according to the prime minister’s spokesperson.In order for victims to claim the upfront offer of £75,000 in compensation, subpostmasters must sign a statement to the effect that they did not commit the crimes of which they are accused. Anyone found to have signed it untruthfully could be subject to prosecution.How will this be received?Victims have long been campaigning for exoneration, pointing to the reputational, emotional and mental trauma they experienced during this period.Though calls for mass exoneration have come from across the political divide, legal experts have raised concerns that it could interfere with the constitutional independence of courts and judges. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve told the BBC earlier this week that exonerations are “in a sense a parliamentary interference”. However, those in support of the move have argued that since all the cases for wrongful conviction rest on the allegation that the Post Office deliberately hid the truth about issues within the Horizon system, the grounds for a one-off exoneration is strong enough to avoid further constitutional challenges.Post Office scandal victims confront minister in heated exchange: ‘It’s a cop out’When will it be introduced?The government has not yet announced a timetable for the introduction of the legislation but Mr Hollinrake told MPs on Wednesday it would be introduced “within weeks”Mr Hollinrake also confirmed that the UK government is now liaising with devolved authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland about the next steps.Will the legislation encounter opposition?This issue has transcended party politics and is likely to receive broad support across parliament.The leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer has also given his support to the principle of the legislation, calling the scandal a huge injustice. There may be some dispute and debate over the minor details within the bill, such as the timetable for exoneration, the amount of compensation offered and whether any follow-up action will be taken against Fujitsu and the Post Office for their role in the scanda, as these details are yet to be revealed.Mr Hollinrake has also indicated that the blanket legislation may result in some who are guilty having their convictions overturned. He told MPs: “I can not tell the House that all those prosecuted were indeed innocent… without retrying every case, we can not know.” Conservative former minister Sir David Davis raised concerns that some of the victims may want an “individual exoneration rather than a grand pardon, because they are understandably concerned of being bracketed with a very small number of people who will actually not be innocent.”Some MPs may also be concerned that the bill could create a precedent for government interference with the judiciary. As such, eagle-eyed MPs will expect a clear rationale within the legislation for the exceptional nature of its existence. However, these details are unlikely to prevent the legislation becoming law and are most likely to be ironed around over the next couple of weeks and during parliamentary debates. More

Rishi Sunak says Post Office horizon scandal an ‘appalling miscarriage of justice’Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has announced new legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers after one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.The prime minister also said there would be a new upfront payment of £75,000 for some of those affected.Mr Sunak said a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated’’.He told the Commons: “This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history. “People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own. The victims must get justice and compensation.”Another 130 people affected by the scandal have now come forward since a new TV programme dramatising the miscarriage of justice aired, postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake said.The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) would normally look at individual convictions and send them to the Court of Appeal. But only 93 of at least 700 convictions have been overturned to date.Show latest update
1704898032£75k payments show Sunak out of touch, says victimJo Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop she ran in Hampshire, said the £75,000 payments showed Rishi Sunak was “out of touch”.Replying to the PM on Twitter, formerly X, she said: “You still haven’t paid to GLO group [Group Litigation Order] and the fact that you think throwing £75k at people will help, just shows how completely out of touch you are. Wouldn’t even cover the interest on what has been stolen from them by POL.”Jane Dalton10 January 2024 14:471704895211Post Office showed ‘incompetence and malevolence’, says ministerPostal minister Kevin Hollinrake said the public inquiry had already shown that Post Office displayed both “incompetence and malevolence” towards its staff in the Horizon scandal. He said: “We have seen whole lives ruined by this brutal and arbitrary exercise of power.”Rishi Sunak said earlier at PMQs that staff were victims of “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.Jane Dalton10 January 2024 14:001704894011 More