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Pack for meeting with James Arbuthnot and other MPs Meeting scheduled for 18" June 2012, 6pm, Portcullis House.
This pack contains:
1. Agenda 2
2. Key Messages 3
3. Potential Questions 3
4, Network Background 3
5. Horizon 3
6. Post Office Recruitment and Training Process for Sub Postmasters 3
7. Example Case 1 3
8. Example Case 2 3
9. List of MPs 3
10. Cases in MPs Constituencies 3
11. MPs Pen Pictures 3
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1. Agenda
Attendees: James Arbuthnot Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire
MPs Final list to be confirmed
Alice Perkins Chairman, Post Office Ltd
Paula Vennells Chief Executive, Post Office Ltd
Alwen Lyons Company Secretary, Post Office Ltd
Angela Van-Den- Head of Network Services, Post Office Ltd
Bogerd
Agenda Item Lead by: Duration (minutes)
1__I Overall Introduction James Arbuthnot 10
2__I Post Office Introduction Alice Perkins 10
3_I Background Paula Vennells 10
4 I Two anonymous case examples Angela Van-Den-Bogerd 10
5 I Discussion and Recommendations James Arbuthnot / Alice 15
Perkins
6 I Conclusion and next steps Alice Perkins 5
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2. Key Messages
Agenda Item Who Key Messages
1 I Overall Introduction James Arbuthnot 10 © Introduce those round the table
oO Purpose of the meeting
2 I Post Office Introduction Alice Perkins 10 © Appreciate taking the time to meet us today
o We take this issue very seriously. This impacts the lives of
individuals, public money is at stake, and so is our
reputation
o Weare open to feedback and we will provide you the
information we have available, we want to work with you to
address all your concerns
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Background
Paula Vennells
10
Confirm above
Sub Postmasters are key to our business and it is important
to me that we support them in every way we can
To support our branches we have a helpdesk that provides
telephone support 7 days a week, field support teams, and
class room training for new agents. We are constantly
looking to improve, so any feedback you may have from
your constituents is welcome
The Horizon is the system used in branches to manage the
branch accounting. If a sub postmaster has any questions or
concerns about their transactions in Horizon the help desk
is there to support them
Occasionally we do get incidents of fraud. This is
unfortunate, but as it is public money at stake it is
important that we protect it
Even in cases of fraud we do try to treat the agent with care
and respect throughout the process
Two anonymous case
examples
Angela Van-Den-
Bogerd
10
°
Describe high level process when fraud it suspected: Eg,
P&BA phone call, audit, investigation, interview
Case 1 Key points
Case 2 Key points
Discussion and
Recommendations
James
Arbuthnot/ Alice
Perkins
15
oo oIo 0
Opportunity for the MPs to express their thoughts.
JA to propose his idea of a “Forensic Audit”
AP to offer a review of the individual cases relevant to each
the MP and get view on the best way of doing this.
Conclusion and next steps
Alice Perkins
°
Gain consensus of views
Agree next steps
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3. Potential Questions
Question Response
1 I Whyare crown staff and sub-post Post Office staff are expected to balance in the same way as sub postmasters. If a clerk misbalances resulting in a loss
masters treated differently if found of more than £30:
committing fraud © Three times in a three month period (or less) they receive an informal warning
© Six times in a six month period (or less) they are interviewed
o Nine times in a nine month period (or less) they are re-interviewed an put on an improvement plan which
could lead to dismissal if no improvement is forthcoming.
Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Process
Post Office applies consistent investigation and prosecution processes across our Sub office and our Crown estate.
Once any branch comes to our adverse attention we would raise an active investigation and proceed in a formalised
manner. Suspect offenders would be interviewed under the auspices of PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) and
cases passed for advice to lawyers. The lawyers would apply the “prosecutors’ guidelines” (in reality CPS checks and
balances) to the matters in hand and advise prosecution, or not, accordingly dependant on evidence and not branch
type.
In terms of investigation and prosecution it is factually incorrect to state or infer that we treat the branch office staff
differently.
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What is our view of Computer Weekly
Computer Weekly is well respected within the IT industry and widely read in Government.
Computer Weekly does not have in-house experts; it relies on using expert consultants from the industry at large.
As we have external and internal experts available we don’t believe Computer Weekly can assist us in this specific case.
Although there is no evidence of problems with Horizon, as an assurance exercise we are considering a forensic audit of
the Post Office Horizon IT system. If we do proceed with this audit, it is likely that we will use an experienced audit
organisation.
We will, however, will be engaging Computer Weekly as part of our IT Transformation communication plan, and will
pick up any Horizon related matters through that forum.
If when suspected of fraud we bar sub-
postmasters from the system, how can
they be expected to prove their case?
Sub-Postmasters should be balancing their accounts at the end of every day. If there are any discrepancies they should
be investigated by the sub-postmaster with assistance from the help desk and P&BA. There should be no surprises at
the time of an audit.
In cases where an auditor has found evidence of fraud, the previous trial balance (which the sub-postmaster has
approved) will be the baseline record. If there are found to be any discrepancies with that Trial Balance the sub-post
master should have followed the standard process to resolve.
If discrepancies are found during the audit, the sub-postmaster will have the opportunity to explain any anomalies.
Does the system allow sub-postmasters
to understand why errors occurred, eg
can they interrogate past transactions?
Yes, they can go back and look at past transactions
The help desk and P&BA can also provide assistance
Sub-postmaster should do a cash balance every day so, so should not be necessary for them to integrate vast quantities
of transactions.
Why are we considering Deloittes to
perform the audit?
KPMG are excluded as they are Fujitsus’ auditor
E&Y are excluded as they Post Office’s auditor
PWC are not recommended because not on Post Office’s supplier short list, although this could be bypassed if required.
Deloittes are on Post Office’s supplier short list and have proven experience in this area
The audit could cost in the region of
£250-£500k, why so expensive?
The audit envisioned is a thorough end-to-end review of processes, systems and data which not only could reveal
potential improvements but could be used as an assurance for court future cases. The cost is a result and
thoroughness of the audit and the expertise required. An alternative, reduced scope audit could also be considered.
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4. Network Background
The Post Office has a unique and valued place at the heart of communities across the UK.
A third of the UK population and half of all small businesses visit a Post Office each week which helps to make it one of the nation’s most valued
and treasured organisations.
It is seen as a vital public service but it faces a challenging commercial environment.
Over the last ten years footfall has dropped from 28 million customers a week to just under 20 million. This is largely driven by the reduction in
government services and a shrinking consumer mails market in an increasingly digital world.
Following the enactment of the reforms contained within the Postal Services Act 2011, Post Office Ltd is now (as of 1 April 2012) an
independent company. It has its own Chairman and full Board including non-executive directors. The Postal Services Act has made clear that
the company will remain in the public sector — with the possibility of mutualisation at a later date.
The company provides services to just under 20 million customers (and to half of all small businesses in the UK) per week
We have a network of over 11500 Post Office branches. 373 of these branches are operated directly by Post Office Ltd. All the others are
agency branches operated by independent business people or multiple retailers - typically as part of retail premises. There are over 10,000
agency branches.
The network carries out over 150 million transactions a month.
Post Office Ltd provides full infrastructure support to all branches with a UK-wide cash and stock distribution system, product and marketing
support, a helpdesk who provide telephone support for sub-postmasters, and field support teams who provide on site support.
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5. Horizon
Summary:
© Horizon designed with integrity in mind from day one
© Horizon has undergone external scrutiny
© Each transaction is audited and protected with a digital signature to prevent change or tampering
© Reconciliation processes automatically detects any problems
Background
© The Horizon computer system is used in all Post Office branches to process counter transactions and process all in-branch accounting processes. Horizon
enables sub postmasters to account accurately for each transaction they undertake in their branch.
© The system has been operating for over ten years. In that time around twenty thousand sub postmasters have used it in performing many millions of successful
weekly and monthly financial reconciliations between the cash they have in the office and the transactions they have handled.
© The National Federation of Sub Postmasters (NFSP), which represents sub postmasters throughout the country, has expressed its full confidence in the accuracy
and robustness of the Horizon system.
© In 2010 Horizon underwent an upgrade. The upgraded system was tested and has the full support of the NFSP
External Scrutiny
°
Horizon and Post Office Ltd systems environment have always been subject to external scrutiny for both assurance and accreditation purposes. Ernst & Young
carry out an annual financial systems audit; an independent auditor also carries out a yearly audit to maintain the system’s Payment Card Industry (PCI)
accreditation.
The system and its Data Centre are ISO 27001 accredited which requires an annual audit from an independent agency. Horizon is also accredited by HSBC
Payment Services and WorldPay (Post Office’s Merchant Acquirers) and must comply with the VocaLink standard for card payment transactions. In addition to
these regular audits, ad hoc independent audits of the system are initiated by Royal Mail Group and supported by Post Office Ltd.
Designed for Security and Integrity
°
Horizon was originally built to support benefit payments against requirements from Post Office Limited and the Benefits Agency. The need for security, integrity
and a strong audit trail has been emphasised since day one.
Horizon system keeps full audit records of all transactions undertaken by all log ins — so that it is always possible to track back anything that has occurred within
the system — or at an individual sub post office
The system is designed such that all data is sequentially numbered at the point of its creation and is separately stored in a secure tamper proof facility for 7
years — so that recreation of situations and track back is always feasible
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© Horizon requires clerks to log on, using their own username and password before any transactions can be carried out.
o Horizon captures ‘baskets’ consisting of items sold and payments in or out at the counter. When the clerk settles a basket this is clearly shown on the counter
screen. Software at the counter digitally ‘signs’ each basket.
0. Each basket is written to the audit trail where it is kept for 7 years. Data in the audit trail is cryptographically protected to ensure that its integrity can be
asserted.
Reconciliation and Validation
© Each basket is checked to balance to zero at the data centre; if it did not (eg because of a bug in the software) it would be rejected. The signature applied by the
counter is checked before the data is written to the database.
The data centre also checks that each basket is the one expected (i.e. the count has gone up by exactly one). If it is not, then, if appropriate, the clerk is notified of the
need to recover.
Transactions are reconciled with all the banks and clients, any discrepancies are investigated and resolved.
6. Post Office Recruitment and Training Process for Sub Postmasters
Prior to appointment
The key extracts of the contract are covered at the interview stage by the Contracts Advisor. One part of which is:-
Post Office cash & stock
Balancing/branch trading.
* Alldiscrepancies to be made good immediately.
e Fraud.
Cash for PO use only.
© Robbery/burglary,
* Error, theft by assistants, cashing personal cheques.
Following Appointment
Acopy of the contract is sent to the agent.
An appointment pack is also issued to agents when they take over a branch and is explained by the trainer to the agent whilst on site.
The following is an extract from the document:-
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The Subpostmaster is responsible for all losses caused through his own negligence, carelessness or error, and also for losses of all kinds caused by his Assistants.
Deficiencies due to such losses must be made good without delay. Section 19:
Once the offer of appointment is accepted, training dates are then confirmed.
Training
Training processes are under constant review with the delivery of the training being aligned to the type and size of branch and the number of
people requiring training. Training commences within a classroom environment for 6 days; this is extended to 8 days classroom training for
those branches offering the full range of post office products (eg DVLA, Passports etc). The classroom training is delivered in advance of the site
transfer. Once the site transfer takes place the on site 6 day training commences. The Ops Manual is used as reference document during
training and all subpostmasters have a copy, although most of the Ops Manuals are now on-line in ‘Horizon on-line Help’ which is available at
every branch.
Both the classroom and on-site training includes how to complete the office balance and the trainer is on site with the agent for the completion of the first office
balance, which is always a Branch Trading Statement.
Follow up support is provided to assist with balancing or any other training needs. This takes the form of:
e Helpline support at NBSC. If unable to resolve the issue the agent is referred to the POLtd Branch Support team.
e@ The Branch Support Team is made up of very experienced and knowledgeable Post Office employees (average length of service is in
excess of 20 years) who understand the post office product / service portfolio and ways of working exceptionally well. They provide
telephone support to the agent. If this support doesn’t fully resolve any issues (and in the majority of cases this does) then this is
escalated to the Field Support Team. The Field Support Team is a well established and experienced team (average length of service 25
years plus) with extensive hands on experience of post office products and services, in branch policies and processes and the Horizon
system.
e Amember (trainer/auditor) of the Field Team will also telephone the branch to assist and if necessary then visit the branch to provide
face to face support.
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e Remedial training would be arranged following the face to face support if the Field Support Advisor felt this was necessary.
Is the training adequate?
Customer satisfaction with training is tested through independent research questionnaires collated by an independent research company. The field team leader receives
a copy of each branch feedback form and if any comments cause concern or if any Agent raises an issue regarding the quality of the training or lack of confidence this is
followed up by the team leader. There is currently a 95% satisfaction from a response rate of 69%.
Initial training
All new entrants to the business receive classroom training the length of which depends on the model of the branch, plus 6 days training on site. All new Agents also
have further follow-up contact to embed training, which includes:-
Atone month from appointment a follow up telephone call to check all is okay and they are confident;
* At three months from appointment a face to face visit to check all is okay and observe the branch operationally, provide a refresh and support as necessary;
e Atsix to nine months after appointment a face to face unannounced follow up which is unannounced and includes a procedural and compliance audit, an audit
of cash and stock
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7. Example Case 1
Date Action
24/12/2001 Ie Josephine Hamilton (JH) begins working at the South Warnborough SPSO.
21/10/2003 I JH appointed as subpostmaster (SPM).
* SPM assisted by Mrs Partridge. Mrs Partridge denies (in her statement dated 31/07/2006) having ever assisted with balancing or completed any
cash declarations.
1/12/2004 I Cash held increases from £15,000 to £35,000 (See Graph at 7.2)
to 1/4/2006
03/02/2004 I « Unidentified loss of £3,191.00. JH requested hardship payments to be set up to clear this loss. (Payment deducted from salary over a 12 month
period)
24/02/2005 I « Unidentified loss of £750.00. JH requested hardship payments to be set up to clear this loss.
01/05/2005 I * Warning letter sent to JH for rolling balance not made good (£724)
01/09/2005 I Second warning letter sent to JH for rolling balance not made good (£188)
05/10/2005 I PO migrated to branch trading. (Formal balancing every month instead of every week). No onsite visit provided, but would have been provided
with an interactive training CD ROM, a Transition Guide, a Quick Reference Guide, a branch trading calendar and the relevant manuals. The SPM
would also have been invited to attend a number of face-to-face events explaining migration.
* Records indicate that no requests were made for replacement materials or that the CD-ROM be exchanged for a video.
08/02/2006 I Branch Trading Statement for trading period 10 (13/01/06 to 08/02/2006) completed.
Statement shows a shortage of £6.74 and cash on hand stated as being £35,515.83.
06/03/2006 I Rebecca Portch (Retail Cash Management Support) contacted the branch regarding high levels of cash holdings. Branch paying out approximately
£2,500 on average per week, but declared cash holdings in excess of £20,000.
SPM requested by Ms Portch to return £25,000 by 08/03/2006.
SPM alleged to have advised a NFSP representative, Kam Matharu, that there were problems at this branch. The nature of the problems was not
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specified.
07/03/2006 SPM signed off orfgae} leave.
08/03/2006 Excess cash holding not returned by SPM as per request.
09/03/2006 Audit undertaken. Deficiency (including cash and stock) of £36,644.89 identified by the audit team.
Cash figure on Horizon stated to be £37,360.06. The cash physically verified as being n hand only £1,933.48 (a difference of £35,426.58).
SPM precautionary suspended as a result of shortfall. SPM requested to attend an interview under caution.
15/03/2006 Izzy Hogg, solicitor acting for the SPM, contacts POL and offers to provide a written statement. Ms Hogg informed that an interview under caution
will still need to be conducted.
12/04/2006 Second letter sent to SPM regarding interview.
21/04/2006 Agreed interview will take place on 05/05/2006.
05/05/2006 Interview conducted by POL under caution at offices of the SPM’s solicitors.
POL provided disclosure of documents to be put to the SPM in the course of the interview. Includes cash declarations and branch trading
statements.
SPM provides a pre-prepared written statement. The statement states that the SPM did not receive adequate training and that the operation
manuals provided were out of date. Statement also makes reference to an error for £1,500 which is alleged to have doubled to £3,000 when
attempts were made to correct it. The SPM was invited to confirm when that error is alleged to have occurred, but the SPM declined to comment.
Statement also contains a denial that the SPM has ever stolen monies.
Taped interview commenced at 12:13pm. The prepared statement was read and the SPM then gave “no comment” responses to all the questions
raised by the interviewing officers.
Interview concluded at 13.32pm.
11/10/2006 Decision taken to prosecute for theft.
30/10/2006 Summons issued requiring the SPM to attend before the Aldershot Magistrates Court.
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09/10/2007 Defence offers pleas to false accounting by way of mitigation.
19/11/2007 Hearing before Winchester Crown Court.
SPM pleads guilty to 14 separate counts of false accounting. This is accepted by POL on the basis that the losses are repaid in full by 25/01/2008.
Count of theft to remain on file until payment made in full.
04/02/2008 SPM sentenced to 12 month Community and Supervision Order.
18/02/2008 Cheque for £37,644.89 received from the SPM.
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40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
South Warnborough - Cash Declarations
01-Feb-05
01-Apr-05
01-Jun-05
01-Aug-05
01-Apr-06
01-Jun-06
01-Oct-06
01-Oct-05
01-Feb-06
01-Aug-06
01-Dec-04
01-Dec-05
01-Dec-06
01-Feb-07
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8. Example Case 2
The defendant Tracey Ann Merritt had been employed as a Post Mistress for over four years. Ms Merritt worked at the
Yetminster Post Office, but also operated an outreach Post Office at Chetnole.
An audit was conducted at the Yetminster Post Office on the 29'" September 2011 following concerns raised by a former holiday relief worker
at the Yetminster branch in August 2011 over alleged cash shortages.
Mr Constant and Mr Gilding arrived at Yetminster Post Office at 8:30am and introduced themselves to Miss Lisa Porter, the daughter of Ms
Merritt who was sitting behind the counter having already logged on to the Horizon system and accepted the Transaction Acknowledgements.
Mr Constant asked Miss Porter when she expected her mother to arrive, Miss Porter informed the auditors that she would be in later on as she
had gone to the cash and carry. Mr Constant asked Miss Porter if she would allow him access to the secure area, which she did, and also to
inform her mother that the auditors were at the Post Office. Ms Merritt allegedly told her daughter to ask the auditors to wait until she arrived
at the branch before they continued, Miss Porter remained quiet until her mother arrived.
Whilst waiting for Ms Merritt to arrive, Mr Constant logged onto the Horizon system for the Yetminster branch using the Global User name and
password as Miss Porter did not have Manager Access to the system. Mr Constant then created user ID BCO003 and logged on to the Horizon
system, using that ID to produce audit reports.
Mr Constant also logged on the Outreach Horizon system for the Chetnole branch, using the user ID BCO001. No other action was taken until
Ms Merritt was presents in the branch.
Ms Merritt arrived at 09:15am and Mr Constant advised her that they were there to perform an audit.
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Before t he audit commenced Ms Merritt advised Mr Constant of a cheque for £9500 and explained that she had removed cash to that value
the previous evening after she had declared her cash onto the Horizon system. The cheque appeared to be with her outstanding daily
documents, when questioned about this, Ms Merritt stated that she meant to put the cheque through the system the evening before but
hadn’t done so, and was intending to process it that morning. Ms Merritt explained that the cheque was to pay for ‘something personal’ that
had nothing to do with the shop. She explained that she had needed the cash urgently but was unable to get to the bank(s). Ms Merritt
explained that she thought she was allowed to use Post Office cash as a cheque had already been put in to cover it. She expressed that she did
not intend to steal the money and that the cheque, if banked would be honoured.
Ms Merritt confirmed that this was t he first time that anything like this had happened. However the audit team noted that the date on the
cheque had appeared to have been altered from what appeared to be ‘5’ (May) to a ‘9’ (September). When asked, Ms Merritt said that it was
due to a writing error. There were no details recorded on the reverse of the cheque and it had not been date stamped.
Mr Constant confirmed with Ms Merritt that he should expect to find the cash at least £9500 short when it was counted, she confirmed that
was correct.
Yetminster Audit findings:
£8546.17 (-) Difference in cash figures
£404.74 (-) Difference in stock figures
£518.24 (+) Difference in postage figures
£17.40 (-) Difference in foreign currency figures
£ 8415.27 Total Shortage
Chetnole Outreach Branch Audit findings:
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£3517.96 (-) Difference in cash figures
£46.71 (-) Difference in stock figures
£933.17 (+) Difference in postage figures
£17.40 (+) Difference in foreign currency figures
£ 3471.55 Total Shortage
The total audit revealed a shortage of £11,886.77 at the two branches under the control of Ms Merritt. The event log balancing printout
showed shortages were apparent during August 2011.
Ms Merritt was issued with a without prejudice receipt for the £9500 cheque and a further without prejudice receipt for a second Santander
cheque for £2386.77 that together made up the discovered shortages on the day. Both cheques later returned not honoured.
Mr Adderley, Contracts Manager precautionary suspended Ms Merritt’s contract for services on the 29" September 2011. Ms Merritt admitted
to Mr Adderley on the day of t he audit that she had taken the money from the Post Office on the evening of the 28" September 2011 for a
personal matter, confirming what she had advised the auditors at the office that day.
On Monday 3 October 2011 Ms Merritt was contacted by Mr Thomas to informing her that he needed to interview her and explained her legal
rights and the Post Office Friend rule. Ms Merritt confirmed that she was receiving legal advice and that she would contact him once she had
done this.
On the 5" October 2011 Mr Thomas requested and received a personal printout from HR for Ms Merritt.
Whilst awaiting to hear from Ms Merritt, Mr Thomas continued to progress aspects of the case such as PNC results etc. Following a further
telephone conversation, Mr Thomas wrote to Ms Merritt again confirming that e still needed to conduct an interview with her under caution.
Mr Thomas was eventually contacted by Mr Mike Robinson of Morton Law Solicitors in Yeovil and an interview was arranged at their offices on
Wednesday 9°" November 2011. Mr Thomas and Lisa Allen attended the offices at 12:30hrs where disclosure was given from Mr Robinson.
Interview
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The caution was explained to Ms Merritt and the interview commenced at 13.18 hrs in accordance with PACE. During the interview Ms Merritt
said the following:
1. That she denied having taken the money the night before the audit as she had previously advised the auditors, and now produced a
large document regarding on-going litigation by Shoosmith Solicitors over the reliability of the Horizon system.
2. She only admitted taking the money during the audit because she was upset and would have said anything at the time, when shut in
a room with two men that she did not know. She went on to say that she felt intimidated and would have done anything to get
herself out of that situation. Mr Thomas confirmed that at no point was she locked in a room, but was in fact in a secure area in full
view of customers who were being advised that the Post Office was closed whilst the audit was being undertaken. She was only
present to monitor the audit taking place. Her daughter was also present.
3. Mr Thomas referred to an ‘Event Log Balancing’ printout which identifies an entry made by TMEO01 (Ms Merritt) on the 17"
September 2011 at 12:36 hrs that identifies a substantial discrepancy that was immediately followed by a re-entry increasing the
cash on hand by some £14,400 and resulting now in a surplus of £245.45. (This was not posed to Ms Merritt at the time of the
interview).
4. When asked, Ms Merritt denied taking any money but blamed the Horizon system. Mr Thomas then advised her that it was her
responsibility to arrange an audit following information received from the holiday relief Catherine Early which appeared to be true.
Ms Merritt denied that she had asked Catherine to inflate the cash on hand by £12,000. She stated that there had been occasions
where she needed to take money to Chetnole from Yetminster and had not been able to officially transfer the money as she had no
barcodes to do it. Ms Merritt conceded that even if that was the case, the two branches would not balance and t he amount still
would have been short. Mr Thomas asked why would Catherin Early advised POL about the shortages if they were not true? And
was she, therefore suggesting that Ms Early was lying? To which Ms Merritt could not say if she was lying, but only that she had not
asked her inflate the cash declaration.
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5. At the end of the interview, Ms Merritt stated she would be willing to allow searches of her home to be conducted. A search was
conducted at 16:27hrs and concluded at 16:41hrs. Three items were seized that related to various bank statements, copies of which
were forwarded to Dave Posnett.
The loss to POL was £11,886.77and Ms Merritt gave a signed undertaking to repay £9,500 within 14 days of her interview on the 9" November
2011.
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9. List of MPs
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FirstName Surname Party Constituency Correspondence Case Case
North West
Mr Andrew Bridgen Conservative Leicestershire No
Mid Dorset and North
Mrs Annette Brooke Liberal Democrat_I Poole No
Newcastle upon Tyne
RtHon I Nick Brown Labour East No
Rt Hon __I Simon Burns Conservative Chelmsford No
Mr Dan Byles Conservative North Warwickshire No
Rt Hon
Sir Menzies Campbell I Liberal Democrat_I North East Fife No
Rt Hon Greg Clark Conservative Tunbridge Wells No
Mr David Crausby I Labour Bolton North East No
is % 5 SEEDED : Mrs Jenny O'Dell at Great
Mr. I Jonathan _I Djanogly I Conservative Huntingdon 2010 Staughton PO
Mr Richard Drax Conservative South Dorset No
Labour/Co-
Mrs Louise Ellman operative Liverpool Riverside No
Mr Paul Flynn Labour Newport West No
Mr Edward Garnier Conservative Harborough No
Mrs Mary Glindon Labour North Tyneside No
Bie ees I Merthyr Tydfil and Lynne Prosser at Merthyr Tydfil
Mr Dai Havard Labour Rhymney No _ Y. PO. A Z
i : i 4 Bae Mrs Carol Ridell at East Boldon
Mr I Stephen I Hepburn I Labour I Jarrow 2011 PO
Arundel and South
RtHon I Nick Herbert Conservative Downs No
Ms Glenda Jackson I Labour Hampstead and Kilburn No
Mr I David Jones Conservative Clwyd West 2009 Alan Bates at Craig-y-Don PO
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Knight Conservative
Milton Conservative
East Yorkshire
Guildford
No
Ms Priti
Munt Liberal Democrat_I Wells
Patel Conservative
Witham
No
Mr David
Ruffley I Conservative
Bury St Edmunds
No
Mr Keith
Simpson _I Conservative
Broadland
No
Mr lain Stewart Conservative Milton ch South No
Mr Andrew Tyrie Conservative Chichester No
Wyre and Preston
Mr Ben Wallace _I Conservative North No
Miss Jenny Willott Liberal Democrat _I Cardiff Central No
Mr Mike Wood Labour Batley and Spen No
Mr lain Wright Labour Hartlepool No
Temp Grand
MP Constituency Sub Type I Open Closed Total
Bridgen, Andrew North West
(Con) Leicestershire Outreach I 2 1 3
Sub PO 19 1 20
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North West Leicestershire Total 21 23
Brooke, Annette Mid Dorset and North
(LD) Poole Sub PO 14 14
Mid Dorset and North Poole Total I 14 14
Brown, Nicholas Newcastle upon Tyne
(Lab) East Franchise I 1 1
Local 1 1
Sub PO 6 6
Newcastle upon Tyne East Total 8 8
Burns, Simon (Con) I Chelmsford Franchise I 1 1
Local 1 1
Sub PO 8 8
Chelmsford Total 10 10
Byles, Daniel (Con) North Warwickshire Local 1 2
Outreach I 1 1
Sub PO 18 18
North Warwickshire
Total 20 21
Campbell, Menzies
(LD) North East Fife Franchise I 1 1
Local 1 1
Outreach I 4 4
Sub PO 27 28
North East Fife Total 33 34
Clark, Greg (Con) Tunbridge Wells Crown 1 1
Local 2 2
Outreach I 1 1
Sub PO 16 16
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Tunbridge Wells Total 20 20
Crausby, David (Lab) I Bolton North East Crown 1 1
Sub PO 10 10
Bolton North East
Total 11 11
Djanogly, Jonathan
(Con) Huntingdon Franchise I 2 2
Local 3 3
Sub PO 16 16
Huntingdon Total 21 21
Drax, Richard (Con) I South Dorset Franchise I 1 1
Outreach I 3 3
Sub PO 18 19
South Dorset Total 22 23
Ellman, Louise (Lab) I Liverpool, Riverside Crown 2 2
Franchise I 1 1
Main 1 1
Sub PO 6 9
Liverpool, Riverside
Total 10 13
Flynn, Paul (Lab) Newport West Crown 1 1
Sub PO 15 16
Newport West Total 16 17
Garnier, Edward
(Con) Harborough Franchise I 3 3
Sub PO 11 11
Harborough Total 14 14
Glindon, Mary (Lab) I North Tyneside ] Franchise I 2 2
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Local 1 1
Sub PO 18 18
North Tyneside Total 21 21
Merthyr Tydfil and
Havard, Dai (Lab) Rhymney Crown 1 1
Sub PO 22 23
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney Total I 23 24
Hepburn, Stephen
(Lab) Jarrow Franchise I 1 1
Sub PO 13 13
Jarrow Total 14 14
Arundel and South
Herbert, Nick (Con) I Downs Outreach I 1 1
SubPO__I 27 28
Arundel and South Downs Total 28 29
Jackson, Glenda Hampstead and
(Lab) Kilburn Crown 3 3
Main 1 1
Sub PO 7 7
Hampstead and Kilburn Total 11 11
Jones, David (Con) Clwyd West Franchise I 1 1
Outreach I 10 10
Sub PO 21 22
Clwyd West Total 32 33
Knight, Greg (Con) East Yorkshire Crown 1 1
Outreach I 7 7
Sub PO 24 25
East Yorkshire Total 32 33
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Leigh, Edward (Con) I Gainsborough Franchise I 2 2
Outreach I 12 12
Sub PO 26 1 27
Gainsborough Total 40 1 41
Letwin, Oliver (Con) I West Dorset Franchise I 1 1
Local 1 1
Outreach I 7 7
Sub PO 31 4 35
West Dorset Total 40 4 44
Lord, Jonathan
(Con) Woking Franchise I 1 1
SubPO I9 1 10
Woking Total 10 1 11
Lumley, Karen (Con) I Redditch Crown 1 1
Sub PO 9 9
Redditch Total 10 10
Milton, Anne (Con) I Guildford Crown 1 1
Local 1 1
Sub PO 15 15
Guildford Total 17 17
Munt, Tessa (LD) Wells Franchise I 2 2
Outreach I 3 1 4
Sub PO 21 2 23
Wells Total 26 3 29
Osborne, George
(Con) Tatton Franchise I 1 1
Outreach I 1 1
Sub PO 15 15
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Tatton Total 17 17
Patel, Priti (Con) Witham Local 1 1
Outreach I 1 1 2
Sub PO 18 18
Witham Total 20 1 21
Rutley, David (Con) I Macclesfield Crown 1 1
Sub PO 12 2 14
Macclesfield Total 13 2 15
Simpson, Keith
(Con) Broadland Outreach I 1 5 6
Sub PO 31 5 36
Broadland Total 32 10 42
Stewart, lain (Con) Milton Keynes South Franchise I 1 1
Sub PO 12 12
Milton Keynes South
Total 13 13
Stuart, Graham Beverley and
(Con) Holderness Crown 1 1
Outreach I 2 2
Sub PO 28 1 29
Beverley and Holderness Total 31 1 32
Tyrie, Andrew (Con) I Chichester Crown 1 1
Local 1 1
Outreach I 4 1 5
Sub PO 23 3 26
Chichester Total 29 4 33
Wyre and Preston
Wallace, Ben (Con) North Crown 1 1
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Outreach I 2 2
Sub PO 16 3 19
Wyre and Preston North Total 19 3 22
Willott, Jenny (LD) Cardiff Central Crown 1 1
Main 1 1
Sub PO 8 1 9
Cardiff Central Total 10 1 11
Wood, Mike (Lab) Batley and Spen l Sub PO 12 1 13
Batley and Spen Total 12 1 13
Wright, lain (Lab) Hartlepool Crown 1 1
Sub PO 11 11
Hartlepool Total 12 12
Grand Total 732 45 777
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10. Cases in MPs Constituencies
10.1 Shoosmith Cases
3 of the 5 Shoosmith cases formally notified to POL fall within the constituencies of one of the 37 MPs due to attend the meeting:-
Branch ISubpostmaster {Constituency IMP. Party
(Alderley Edge PO [Scott Darlington [Tatton George Osborne {Conservative
(Astwood Bank PO ulian Wilson Redditch Karen Lumley Conservative
Merthyr Tydfil PO ILynne Prosser Merthyr Tydfil Dai Havard Labour
land Rhymney
Scott Darlington
SPM was appointed on 25 March 2005.
Audit carried out on 12 February 2009. SPM suspended for inflating on-hand cash declarations by c.£44k.
Pleaded guilty to 5 counts of false accounting based upon cash declarations made between September 2008 and February 2009.
Debt of c.£44k remains outstanding in full.
Letter before action sent by Shoosmiths on 16 August 2011. It is alleged by the SPM that he was compelled to make the false declarations by
virtue of economic duress and that the offences resulted from the unfairness of the system devised for use by SPM’s and/or as a result of
errors generated by the Horizon system itself. As a result, the SPM claims that POL was not entitled to terminate his appointment and
consequently POL is liable for the wrongful termination of his contract. The SPM claims damages of c.£150k.
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It is alleged that (a) the training provided was inadequate, (b) the helpline provided by POL was unfairly difficult to access due to both its hours
of operation and the insufficiency of operators to deal with the level of demand placed on the service, (c) the Horizon system suffers with
inherent defects and/or an unfair system of operation and (d) the standard operating procedures used by POL make it impossible to properly
reconcile errors.
Liability has been denied on the basis that the SPM can have no claim for wrongful termination in circumstances where he has committed
fraud. POL has not responded to each individual allegation.
There has been no correspondence on this matter since December 2011.
There are no live court proceedings in play.
Julian Wilson
- SPM was appointed on 6 November 2002.
+ In or around May 2003 an audit took place. A small discrepancy was found and made good.
+ On 11 September 2008 a further audit took place. The auditors were advised that there would be a shortfall of c.£27k. A shortfall of
£27,811.98 was identified and the SPM was suspended.
+ On 15 June 2009 the SPM pleaded guilty to two charges of false accounting. He was made subject to a confiscation order and the debt has
been paid in full.
+ Letter before action sent by Shoosmiths on 23 August 2011. The issues raised in that letter are more or less identical to those set out in
Darlington.
+ Liability has been denied on the same basis as in Darlington.
+ There has been no correspondence on this matter since December 2011.
+ There are no live court proceedings in play.
Lynne Prosser
- SPM between June 1997 and 7 July 2005. Prior to this she had been an employee of POL working as a cashier and substitute / relief manager
in a Crown PO.
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+ It appears that the branch was audited on 23 September 2004. The total amount of the discrepancies stood at £425k. She was suspended and
ultimately terminated by letter dated 19 January 2005.
- The SPM was interviewed under caution in respect of allegations of theft. It does not appear that any criminal proceedings were commenced.
« The SPM appealed the decision to terminate her contract and it appears that she was re-instated, albeit she remained on suspension. It also
appears that POL wrote to her on 30 June 2005 inviting her to resign, which she did on 14 July 2005.
+ Court proceedings were commenced in June 2011 and served on POL in October 2011. A letter before action was served on 23 December
2011. The allegations made are in almost identical terms to the claims made in both the Darlington and Wilson cases.
+ This claim has been struck out on the basis of procedural error and the SPM is now time barred from bringing any future claims.
10.2 MPs Correspondence Cases
Edward Leigh MP re Shirley Rayner at Glentham
o Mrs Rayner was appointed on 27 September 2007
She received five days classroom training and six days on-site support
Mrs Rayner wrote to Lynn Hobbs on 15 April 2008 regarding 3 x Transaction Corrections she had received for £100 each and provided
evidence to support these
She also alleged that there was a lack of support when challenging TCs — no mention was made about the Horizon system at this time
Her letter was passed to Shaun Turner in the Network Coordination Team who passed the matter to Chesterfield for resolution
Mrs Rayner wrote in again in July 2008, December 2008 and February 2009 to say that she hadn’t received a response
Sarah Howard contacted Mrs Rayner in December to apologise as Shaun Turner had been led to believe that the matter had been
resolved when it had first been raised
oA full response was sent to Mrs Rayner on 27 March 2009 along with a cheque for £100 as a refund of one of the TCs (she admitted the
other two were probably her error)
oo
ooo°o
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o Further letters were sent to Mrs Rayner by P&BA in May 2009 regarding £150 in missing Savings Stamps; the letters imply that Mrs
Rayner was abusive during her phone call which was then terminated by the operator
Mrs Rayner was precautionary suspended on 17 August 2009 due to a £2,132.68 shortage at audit
We were unable to appoint a temporary subpostmaster therefore the office remained closed
Mrs Rayner admitted inflating the cash on hand figures at the time
Mrs Rayner resigned to avoid termination on 23 August 2009; Karen Arnold was the Contracts Manager dealing with the case
In Mrs Rayner’s resignation letter she stated that she had a lack of confidence in the Horizon system; that requests for assistance with
discrepancies & TCs had been refused and she had been told to sort matters out herself; requests for additional training had been
turned down and that a lack of ongoing support from POL had caused her considerable stress and had a detrimental effect on her
business and family life. Mrs Rayner asked that all the equipment be removed as the premises were not available for continued use as a
post office®
o. Mrs Arnold acknowledged the resignation letter on 25 August 2009
The branch was closed and defunded on 27 August 2009
o A further letter was received from Mrs Rayner on 8 September 2009 stating her disappointment with Mrs Arnold’s response as it did not
address the reasons for her resignation; nor any reference to the hard work she had put in at the branch. Mrs Rayner also claimed that
she was entitled to a three-month notice period; she also requested a breakdown of the auditor’s findings, particularly in relation to the
missing cheque and stock.
o A full response was sent on 23 September 2009
o A further letter was received by Mrs Rayner on 14 October 2009 stating that she had called the NBSC and had been told to sort things
out herself. Mrs Rayner also reiterated that she should receive a three-month notice period and was, therefore, entitled to three
months’ pay
co Aresponse was provided on 28 October 2009
oo000
°
Rt Hon George Osborne regarding Mr Walters at Hockley
o Mr Walters took over Hockley Post Office® branch on 4 May 2004 but didn’t open until the following morning
o Mr Walters had five days classroom training and six days on-site support
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A post appointment visit conducted on 10 June 2005 identified a gap in the spmr’s knowledge regarding balancing
Ad hoc training was arranged to cover balancing and cash accounts
Delivery staff at the office raised security concerns in August 2005 due to the numbers of remittances being received via special delivery
Janet Walters confirmed that this was due to the office being a pre-order office for currency so they were having a few special deliveries
coming through for this; she also said the office had ordered additional cash due to making more cash payouts
The office was advised to check their planned orders and increase the delivery amount this way
o Asecond post appointment visit on 1 August 2005 stated that the cash and suspense accounts were ok and that the person visiting had
shown the subpostmaster the correct way to declare cash each night and instructed him on dealing with error notices
© Spmr placed a contact request with the NBSC on 15 November 2007 to discuss discrepancies on his balance from June 2006. The BDM,
Julie Pollard, had already sorted the matter out when the branch was contacted
o Mr Walters was suspended on 29 November 2007 and a suspension letter was sent to him on the same day by Paul Williams, Contracts
Manager
Mr Walters was suspended due to a £14,136.47 shortage at audit
The branch re-opened on 30 November 2007 with a temporary spmr
Michael Haworth, Contracts Manager, was asked to take on the conduct case on 11 December 2007
A letter was sent to Mr Walters on 15 January 2008 asking Mr Walters if he wanted a personal interview to discuss the issues — a
response was required by 25 January 2008
Mr Walters replied on 18 January 2008 requesting an interview
o A further letter was sent to Mr Walters on 22 January 2008 inviting him to interview on 1 February 2008 at Stockport Area Office; Mr
Walters confirmed he would be attending on 30 January 2008
o Mr Walters made a contact request via the NBSC on 23 January 2008 saying he needed to check some figures that Michael Haworth had
given him; this was sent to Michael for response
o Mr Walters returned a signed copy of the interview notes on 7 February 2008
o Aletter was sent to Mr Walters on 14 February 2008 terminating his contract on the grounds of falsifying post office accounts and
failing to make good losses. Mr Walters was given the opportunity to appeal the decision but had to do so by 29 February 2008
© As no appeal request was received Michael Haworth sent a letter to Mr Walters on 6 March 2008 advising him that he had lost his right
to appeal and asking Mr Walters his intentions regarding the use of his premises
ooo°o
°
oo0o°0
°
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o Mr Walters wrote to Michael Haworth on 8 March 2008 saying that he disagreed with the decision to terminate his contract and that
when he took over the branch he was vetted and found to have no criminal record; he also sent a list of grievances and disputes
o Michael Haworth replied on 17 March 2008 stating that Mr Walters’ case had been dealt with in line with NFSP procedures. Mr
Haworth also stated that an independent investigation was being conducted, separate to the conduct case, by Steve Bradshaw, with
regard to the criminal issues and outstanding monies
o. The branch closed on 17 September 2008 under the Network Change Programme
o Arequest was made on 29 September 2009 by Clive Burton, Former Agents Debts, for a copy of the “acknowledgement of
employment” slip signed by Mr Walters at the time of his appointment. Clive’s email stated that the matter had been referred to Legal
Services due to a large deficiency in Mr Walters’ accounts and the fact that no proposal for repayment had been made
oO. The letter sent by Michael Haworth on 15 January 2008 states that Mr Walters “admitted inflating the cash on hand figure by £3,400 for
the previous two trading periods, and entering a fictitious £5,500 outward rem onto Horizon on 7 November 2007”. Mr Walters had
also been charged with declaring his stock incorrectly in his 28 November 2007 trading statement and had made 63 entries for spoilt
postage
©. Issues were raised in July 2006 regarding the mails integrity letter that was sent out; the spmr made a contact request for someone to
explain the letter to him. The Helpline subsequently talked him through how to do the mail compliance and print off the relevant
receipts
© The BDM, Julie Pollard, had concerns about the temporary spmr and terminated his contract when he went on holiday on 22 February
2008. As no other temporary spmr could be found at the time the office was due to be temporary closed and defunded on this date
o Atemporary spmr was found to run the branch and transferred to him on 22 February 2008
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11. MPs Pen Pictures
Jonathan Djanolgy MP
Jonathan Djanolgy MP
I Majority: 10,819
: Party: Conservative
GRO.
Constituency: Huntingdon, Eastern
21 Post Offices (All Urban)
(No Locals and No Mains)
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Branch Name Postcode Type POStatus I Location Type
Alconbury PE28 4DU SPSO Open Rural
Alconbury Raf Station PE28 4DE SPSO Open Rural
Brampton PE28 4TG SPSO Open Rural
Buckden PE19 5XA PO Local _I Open Rural
Eaton Socon PE19 8EF SPSO Open Rural
Eynesbury PE19 2ND SPSO Open Urban
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Fenstanton PE28 9LH SPSO Open Rural
Godmanchester PE29 2HA PO Local_I Open Rural
Great Gransden SG19 3AA SPSO Open Rural
Great Staughton PE19 5DA PO Local _I Open Rural
Hemingford Grey PE28 9BU SPSO Open Rural
Hilton PE28 9NG SPSO Open Rural
Houghton PE28 2AX SPSO Open Rural
Huntingdon PE29 3LG Franchise I Open Urban
Kimbolton PE28 OHA SPSO Open Rural
Little Paxton PE19 6QW. SPSO Open Rural
Oxmoor PE29 7HN SPSO Open Urban
Ramsey Road PE27 3XW SPSO Open Urban
St lves PE27 5AL MSPO. Open Urban
St Neots PE19 1NL Franchise I Open Urban
West Perry PE28 ODR SPSO Open Rural
Current posts - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice 2010-
Electoral history -
Contested Oxford East 1997 general election. Member for Huntingdon 2001-10, for Huntingdon (revised boundary) since 6 May 2010 general
election
Parliamentary Career
Shadow Minister for Home, Constitutional and Legal Affairs 2004-05;
Shadow Solicitor General 2005-10;
Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry/Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform/Business, Innovation and Skills 2005-10 (Corporate Governance 2006-
09, Business 2009-10);
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice 2010-
Past Select committees
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Member: Trade and Industry 2001-05,
Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments 2001-02
Party posts
Chair, Oxford Polytechnic Conservative Association 1986-87;
Vice-chair, Westminster North Conservative Association 1993-94
Councils, public bodies
Westminster City Council:
Councillor 1994-2001,
Chair:
Traffic Committee 1995-96,
Contracts 1996-97,
Social Services Committee 1998-99,
Environment Committee 1999-2000
Political interests
Small businesses, trade, environment, rural affairs, transport, planning
Jonathan Djanogly MP (letter to Ed Davey 22 October 2010)
on behalf of Mrs Jenny O’Dell, ex subpostmaster Great Staughton Post Office
In November 2009 Mrs O’Dell contacted the internal helpline (NBSC) advising that her branch had seen monthly losses of £1000 since May and the figure
stood at £7,000, Mrs O’Dell stated that she had carried out checks and had not received any transaction corrections. She believed the Horizon system to be at
fault so refused to make good any losses.
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Checks undertaken by the contracts team with the Chesterfield accounting team confirmed they were not aware of any issues at the branch; no problems with
cheques/cash or ATM and that no losses had been settled centrally. There were no losses within the last three trading periods so this raised the possibility that
the cash figure may have been inflated to cover losses.
On 9 December 2009 the contracts team wrote to Mrs O”Dell asked her to supply any evidence to support Horizon was at fault. Mrs O’ Dell referred to a
shortage of 16 December 2009 of £8,506 and subsequent gains on 17 & 21 December of £5,000 and £7,000 but could not provide any evidence to support
Horizon was at fault.
An intervention visit took place on 6 January 2010 to try and ascertain the cause and extent of the losses and whether there was any fault with the system or
incorrect accounting. Following an audit Mrs O’Dell was suspended as a number of discrepancies were found. Some examples are; multiple cash declarations
added together to hide losses; three cash declarations on the system totalling £21,000 but less than £8,000 actually on hand; no losses in balance over 12 months
but one misbalance settled centrally; the branch trading statement of 30 December did not show any Christmas stamps but there were 9,032 on hand. The total
shortage at audit was £9,616.66.
Following her suspension Mrs O’Dell was invited to a meeting on 8 February 2010 to put forward her reasons why her contract should not be terminated. The
charge was loss at audit and falsification of accounts. During the interview Mrs O’Dell was accompanied by NFSP representatives. Mrs O’Dell admitted to
inflating cash figures in the Post Office accounts. Neither Mrs O’Dell nor the NFSP could provide any evidence to suggest that the losses had been occurring
over a period of time.
Mrs O’Dell was advised on 19 February 2010 that her contact was summarily terminated and that she was required to make good the outstanding loss. She
took up the right of appeal, which was held on 30 April 2010. Mrs O’Dell was advised in a letter dated 21 May 2010 that the decision to terminate her contract
was upheld.
A separate case was also raised by Post Office Security to follow up the audit findings. The registered staff at the branch was Mrs O’Dell and her son Daniel
O'Dell. Both were interviewed under caution. Mrs O’Dell admitted to inflating the official cash on hand to cover up shortages in the Post Office account and
falsifying branch trading statements. Despite Post Office Ltd being able to prove that more than one cash declaration was being made, Mrs O”Dell maintained
the system was at fault. An official caution was administered under Section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006, which Mrs O’Dell refused to accept. The outstanding
debt is currently being pursued via our Civil Litigation team.
Neither Mrs O’Dell nor her son provided any evidence of or identified any specific transactions which contributed to the losses. Post Office remains fully
satisfied that the Horizon system is robust and fit for purpose.
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Dia Havard MP
ia Havard MP
‘Constituency: Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymneys, Wales
Majority: 4,056
G RO Party: Labour
24 Post Offices (11 Rural, 13 Urban)
(No Locals and No Mains)
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Branch Name Postcode Type I POStatus I Location Type
Aberfan CF48 4QN SPSO I Open Rural
Abertysswg NP22 5AY SPSO I Open Rural
Bedlinog CF46 6RP SPSO I Open Rural
Caeharris CF48 3HB SPSO I Open Urban
Cefn-Coed CF48 2PL SPSO I Open Urban
Deri CF81 9GJ SPSO I Open Rural
Dowlais CF48 3LT SPSO I Open Urban
Elliot's Town NP24 6DP SPSO I Open Rural
Fochriw CF81 9JT SPSO I Open Rural
Gelli-Deg CF48 1ND SPSO I Open Urban
Gurnos CF47 9SB SPSO I Open Urban
Heolgerrig CF48 1RP SPSO I Open Urban
Merthyr Tydfil CF47 0AB Crown I Open Urban
New Tredegar NP24 6EW SPSO I Open Rural
Pantysgallog CF48 2BY SPSO I Open Urban
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Pentrebach CF48 4BJ SPSO I Open Rural
Penydarren CF47 9LP. SPSO I Open Urban
Phillipstown NP24 6AY SPSO I Open Rural
Pontlottyn CF81 9PD SPSO I Open Rural
Rhymney, NP22 5LP_ SPSO I Open Rural
Treharris CF46 SHE SPSO I Open Rural
Trelewis CF46 6AB SPSO I Open Rural
Troedyrhiw CF48 4JU. SPSO I Open Rural
Upper High Street NP22 5HQ SPso I Open Rural
Current posts Member: Select Committee on Defence 2010-, Panel of Chairs 201 1-
Electoral history - Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 2001-10, for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (revised boundary) since 6 May 2010
general election
Past Select committees - Member: European Standing Committee C, Regulatory Reform 2001-05,
Defence 2003-10, 2010-, Panel of Chairs 2011-
Backbench committees - Vice-chair, PLP Departmental Committee for Defence 2006-10
All-party groups (office-holding) - Treasurer, Rugby Union Group 2010-, Vice-chair, Afghanistan Group 2011-, Vice-chair, Global Uncertainties
Group 2011-
Party posts - Former member, Wales Labour Party Joint Policy Committee
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Jonathan Djanogly MP
Member of Parliament for Huntingdoy
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
22 October 2010
Soctd
Re: Great Staughton Post Office
~~) I have recent
GRO}
ly been apotoached by my constituent, Mrs Jenny O’Dell of I
Until June of last year, Mrs O’Dell was Sub Postmaster of the Great Staughton
Post Office. However, she was forced to step down and the Post Office closed after an
accounting error of £9,000 came to light and Post Office Lid began investigation. Mrs
O’Dell insists that the missing money is a result of technical problem with the Electronic
Point of Sale as has been experienced by many Sub Postmasters across England and
Wales. She reported her concerns about the failure to balance the accounts to Post
Office Ltd on numerous occasions, but they offered no assistance and only sought to
remind her that she was contractually bound to put tight any differences,
Post Office Ltd have now been investigating Mrs O'Dell for 18 months and she is
understandably very concemed about the long delay in concluding this matter. Great
T would, therefore, be very grateful for any assistance you can offer Mrs O’Dell in
bringing her case to a speedy resolutio
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Mr Edward Davey MP
Parliamantars: Pint. 6
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Stephen Hepburn MP
; Stephen Hepburn MP
I Constituency: Jarrow, North East
I Majority: 12,908
I GR Party: Labour
12 Post Offices (1 Rural, 10 Urban)
(No Locals and No Mains)
Branch Name Postcode Type PoOStatus I Location Type
Bede Trading Estate NE32 3EG SPSO Open Urban
Cleadon SR6 7PG SPSO. Open Rural
East Boldon NE36 OSA SPSO Open Urban
Edinburgh Road NE32 4BB SPSO Open Urban
Finchale Road NE31 2JT SPSO. Open Urban
Hebburn NE31 1AA MSPO Open Urban
Hedworth NE32 4LZ SPSO Open Urban
Jarrow NE32 3AA Franchise I Open Urban
Leam Lane NE10 8XQ SPSO Open Urban
Newtown NE35 9AU SPSO Open Urban
Pelaw NE10 0QR SPSO Open Urban
Primrose NE32 5QZ SPSO Open Urban
Wardley Colliery NE10 8SR SPSO Open Urban
West Boldon NE36 ORA SPSO Open Urban
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Current posts
Government representative on football 2002-;
Member Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs 2004-
Electoral history
Member for Jarrow 1997-2010, for Jarrow (revised boundary) since 6 May 2010 general election
Past Select committees
Member: Administration 1997-2001,
Defence 1999-2001,
Accommodation and Works 2003-05,
Northern Ireland Affairs 2004-,
Administration 2009-10
All-party groups (office-holding)
Secretary, Football Group 2010-
Vice-chair, Boxing Group 2011-
Treasurer, Angola Group 2011-
Vice-chair, Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Group 2011-
Councils, public bodies
South Tyneside Council:
Councillor 1985-,
Chair Finance Committee 1989-90,
Deputy Leader 1990-97
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BIS
Paula Vennells
Managing Director
Post Office Ltd ~
148 Old Street POST OFFICE L’ ol
London i
EC1V 9HQ 3 MAR 2011
MANAGING DIRECTOR'S C7="* I
Dear Paula, ~
Department for Business
Innovation & Skills
Edward Davey MP
Minster for Employment Relations,
Consumer an Postal Atal
Our ref: 234501
Your ref:
01 March 2011
Please find enclosed correspondence from Stephen Hepburn MP on behalf of
his constituent, Mrs C Riddell conceming sub postmasters’ contracts with Post
Office Limited.
Can you please look into this matter and reply direct to Stephen Hepburn.
EDWARD DAVEY
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Stephen Hepburn MP. Your Ref: SH/sa
Member of Parliament for Jarrow Our Ref: PV 1216
141 Tedco Business Centre
Viking Industial Estate
Jarrow
TYNE & WEAR
NE32 3DT
17 March 2011
Dear Mr Hepburn
I write further to your letter dated 4 February to Edward Davey, Department for Business Innovation & Skills on behalf of your constituent Mrs C Riddell,
which was forwarded to Post Office Limited for direct reply.
We have now reviewed the concerns raised by Mrs Riddell and we are in the process of finalising our investigations. In view of the number of issues raised we
feel that it would be more appropriate to meet with Mrs Riddell to discuss the points raised on a more personal level.
We have written direct to Mrs Riddell to advise that Sally Buchanan, Regional Network Manager, will be ringing her next week to agree a mutually convenient
date and time.
I would like to close by thanking you for the time taken to raise this matter with us, which has enabled us to fully investigate Mrs Riddell’s concerns.
Yours sincerely
Pack for MPs meeting 18th June version 3.doc Page 45
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Valerie Stanley
Executive Correspondence Advisor
Post Office Limited
Pack for MPs meeting 18th June version 3.doc Page 46