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DRAFT - IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE AND SUBJECT TO LEGAL PRIVILEGE
GLO COMMUNICATIONS
PRE JUDGMENT SPEAKING BRIEF FOR CLIENTS/ COMMERCIAL PARTNERS/ POL COLLEAGUES —
VERBAL ONLY — NOT FOR EMAIL
POST OFFICE GROUP LITIGATION
Background
The Group litigation involving Post Office is part of a long running dispute between Post Office
and a group of mostly former Postmasters who have made serious allegations about technical,
operational and contractual matters. It covers a long period of time, dating back to 2000 in
some cases — much of which relates to a period before we became an independent business.
It is complex and the case is being heard in stages, with a series of trials. The first trial was about
determining the legal construction of the contract between Post Office and Postmasters and the
second trial was about technical matters concerning Post Office’s Horizon computer system.
The second trial concluded on 2 July and the Judge has retired to consider his judgment.
Neither of these trials will determine liability or the individual claimants’ cases. Further trials are
scheduled into 2020.
First Trial (Common Issues Trial)
The focus of the first phase of the legal action was to establish the correct meaning and
interpretation of the contract between the Post Office and Postmasters.
The principal finding was that the contract between Post Office and the Postmasters is a
relational contract which includes numerous additional obligations that have been implied into
the contract.
Beyond the legal finding, the judgment also made criticisms of Post Office behaviours, and
we've taken these extremely seriously.
It’s really important to underline that the Court’s findings do not affect the products and
services we provide for our millions of customers through our UK network of 11,500 Post Office
branches
We have also made huge improvements in the culture and practices of the business in recent
years, but the Judge’s comments remind us that we must always continue to do better. We
have taken the criticisms on board and we’re taking action throughout our organisation
Our first priority is to improve the management of our relationships with Postmasters. This
work is already underway with every Postmaster now being supported by an Area Manager,
further improvements are being made to training (14 new training centers), ongoing support
anda full review of Postmaster remuneration which is expected to be completed by the
autumn.
Our Postmasters are the backbone of our business, their involvement is key to the changes
we’re making and we’ve established forums and workshops enabling ideas and concerns to be
more easily shared
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Were also making operational changes which enable faster investigations and responses to
enable better prevention and resolution of any problems.
Second Trial (Horizon Trial)
The second trial, about technical matters concerning Post Office’s Horizon computer system
concluded on 2 July. The judge has retired to consider his judgment. This is not expected to be
handed down until the Autumn
We don’t know what the outcome of the judgment will be and we do not expect to be notified
by the Court of the date it will be made public until very close to that time.
It is important to underline that all the indications are that Horizon is robust, comparing well
with similar systems across retail and financial service sectors which have to be highly reliable -
this is the view of both independent expert witnesses who have given evidence in the litigation
and is further supported by the fact that the system has been used successfully by 500,000
postmasters and colleagues since its introduction and around 47 million transactions every
week are successfully processed for customers.
These transactions are undertaken on behalf of other large-scale organisations, including high
street banks, Royal Mail, Government Depts and major utility companies. The accuracy of
transactions is subject to numerous checks, including reconciliation with their systems
In recent years we have improved and invested in technology and this remains a priority -we’ve
installed new IT equipment in every branch and transformed our back office systems which
handle £60 billion a year in financial transactions.
But no large IT system is perfect and we accept we need to do more work with postmasters
when problems do arise. Changes we’re making include measures to further reduce human
errors in branches (such as mis-keying) and to respond more quickly and transparently to
concerns raised by our postmasters. Our improved training will also focus on Horizon and back
office processes.
When the judgment is handed down we will contact you with our response.
You might see media coverage about the trial around this time which may cause concern,
please be assured we will have plans in place to respond.
For Clients and Commercial Partners with PR Teams
We can work with you/your PR/Media colleagues to support you with information you might
want to share within your company or when responding to media enquiries.
Appeal (reactive only)
Post Office sought permission to appeal the Common Issues judgment at a hearing on 23 May
2019 where the Managing Judge refused permission. On 18 June we made an application to
the Court of Appeal for permission. We haven’t yet received a response.
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