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Exhibit WITN00740130
James Arbuthnot MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
22 March 2013
Dear James
In advance of your meeting with MPs on Monday to discuss the Second Sight
investigation, I thought it might be helpful if I set out my reflections at this stage in the
process, particularly given that we decided that it would not be appropriate for the Post
Office to attend.
The first point to reiterate is that we remain absolutely committed to supporting the
investigation, and will continue to do everything we can to help Second Sight gather the
evidence they need to arrive at a robust set of conclusions. If there are areas identified
where we need to make improvements we will act on them as a matter of urgency.
Given the importance of this process, I am very pleased by the way in which Second Sight,
the JFSA and the Post Office have developed strong working relationships as the
investigation has progressed. I am very grateful to you and everyone involved for
facilitating this collaborative approach.
I understand that the purpose of Monday’s meeting is for Second Sight to provide an
update on the process and outline how they propose to marshal the complex evidence
base to arrive at a set of conclusions by summer recess. I know that you and Second Sight
share my concern that it would be premature to attempt to draw conclusions from the
evidence gathered to date, particularly given that the sequencing of the investigation
means that we have not yet had an opportunity to submit our own evidence on the
reported issues. Clearly this needs to be a facts-based investigation that allows all relevant
parties to submit information on the matters under review.
Once Second Sight have completed the first stage of the process of assimilating the
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Exhibit WITN00740130
information submitted by sub-postmasters, we will then respond to this as quickly as
possible to ensure they have all the evidence they need to arrive at their final conclusions.
We would be very happy to meet with you and your colleagues closer to summer recess to
discuss the resulting report.
Yours sincerely
Alice Perkins, Chairman
Post Office Ltd