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7 March 2013
Alice Perkins
Chairman
Post Office Ltd
1* Floor, 148 Old Street
London EC1V 9HQ
As you know, I am hosting a meeting on Monday 25 March at 5pm, in Room N at Portcullis
House here at Westminster, about the SubPostmaster / mistress issue. The meeting is to
take the form of an update from Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson of Second Sight on
how their investigations are proceeding. I wonder if you might be free to attend, along with
any of those of your colleagues you deem it is appropriate to invite? I have invited all MPs
who have constituents who have raised this matter with them, Alan Bates, who heads the
Alliance for Justice for SubPostmasters, and Kay Linnell, who is working with him. I do not
propose inviting media.
Initially I thought that having representatives along from the Post Office might compromise
the appearance of complete independence that MPs are looking for from the Second Sight
investigations, but Ron and Ian have persuaded me that it is essential that the Post Office is
represented. I would very much like you to be there.
They tell me that investigations are proceeding well, and that your ongoing support and
willingness to continue funding their efforts is enormously appreciated. I am writing to MPs
this week letting them know this, so that they are not under any illusion of your
commitment to this process. It is very important that they see this, and I shall do my
utmost to bring it to their attention.
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I would like to raise two matters here, and these are things that may need a conversation
between you and me, either in person or by phone if that is easier, before the meeting. In
my discussions with Ron and Ian, I gather that questions have been raised over the
absolute integrity of Horizon, though without their being so fundamental as to say that the
system is not fit for purpose. Since it is a system that remains in current use, there is the
risk that existing SubPostmasters and mistresses may find themselves in exactly the same
position as those whose cases are being investigated. I know that definitive results are not
yet available, but I hope the Post Office would be ready to address this issue.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not inviting media to this meeting. Nevertheless, it would be
expecting too much of MPs, if they were told that there were questions marks over Horizon,
to demand that they keep their constituents in ignorance of a potentially promising
outcome. It would damage the process we are all committed to if the Post Office were not
well prepared with a ready solution to this problem, among others, that could be offered
publicly in this meeting.
Finally, you know as well as I that MPs will want to voice strong defence of their
constituents at this meeting. I will circulate a proposed agenda the week prior to the
meeting, and chair the event, and would hope that this will keep things on track, but I
would like to warn of the possibility that there will be very robust questioning of the Post
Office by MPs on behalf of their constituents. I for my part will want to stress the points
raised in the final paragraph of this letter.
Iam more than happy to take this up with you before the meeting, and in fact it might be
best if we could have a word. I am away during the week 11 March, but a meeting or phone
call the next week might be a very good idea. My office knows your office may seek this,
and will arrange.
I would like to say in conclusion that I am impressed beyond my expectations with not only
how the investigations are proceeding, but of your continuing support. I cannot recall a
more important campaign, nor one where the end result has been so consistently supported
by all parties involved. You have my gratitude and admiration for how the Post Office is
handling this.
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Email to all Post Office MPs
Dear Colleague,
A reminder, if I may, of the update meeting to discuss the SubPostmaster / mistress
problems with the Post Office, which will take place on Monday 25 March, at 5pm, in Room
N, Portcullis House.
The two independent forensic accountants from Second Sight, Ron Warmington and Ian
Henderson, will present their investigations thus far to us. These are, I understand,
proceeding well, although they are taking longer and requiring much more work than was
originally envisaged. The amount of data that must be collated and then analysed by the
investigators in each case is enormous, the work painstaking, and so a leap to a result now
already appears to be premature.
I would like us to be prepared for a longer haul. I am very conscious of the fact that each of
us has a constituent who only wants to know whether evidence has been gathered that will
prove their innocence, leaving them free to pursue this matter in whatever way they see fit.
We are not quite at that stage yet.
The investigations taking place are, I gather, leading to thematic results which highlight
issues rather than offer definitive evidence towards any individual's innocence or culpability.
This is to be expected given the complicated nature of the investigations. Ian and Ron will
explain how they are proceeding, and this will offer us greater insight into why individual
results are not yet available.
The Post Office continues to both fully support and fund Second Sight’s work, and this level
of commitment should be acknowledged. I am inviting senior representatives from the Post
Office to attend the meeting, prepared for questions we may raise.
I hope you can be there, as this is an important step along the way.
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7 March 2013
Mr Alan Bates
Tam looking forward to seeing you again on 25 March here at Westminster. I wanted to
write and let you know that I have had some discussion with Ron and Ian about how things
are going, and both tell me that they are overwhelmed with the support and help you, and
Kay, are offering them. This is really good news. Do not think it is going unnoticed nor
unappreciated. It is extremely important to the entire process, and I want to thank you for
your contribution.
They tell me that the investigations are taking longer than they had hoped — data collation
and analysis proving to be the main sticking points. The good news is that the Post Office
continues to support and fund the process, and it is to its credit — and also in its interest —
to do so.
I want to ask Post Office representatives to this meeting. Ron and Ian have persuaded me
that they really ought to be invited, and I wonder if you are content with this? It will give
MPs a chance to put what I suspect will be some fairly robust questions their way, but they
ought to be prepared for this.
I look forward to hearing from you soon, and trust all is going well with your own case.