POL00117899 - Minutes of a meeting of the Postmaster Litigation subcommittee of Post Office Limited on Monday 26 March 2018 at 20 Finsbury Street EC2Y 9AQ

Evidence on official site

POL00117899
POL00117899

Post Office Limited
Postmaster Litigation Subcommittee

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE POSTMASTER LITGATION SUBCOMMITEE OF POST OFFICE
LIMITED (THE “COMPANY” OR “POL”) ON MONDAY 26 MARCH 2018 AT 5.00 PM AT 20
FINSBURY SREET, LONDON EC2Y 9AQ

Present: Tim Parker Chairman (TP)

Ken McCall Senior Independent Director (KM)

Paula Vennells Group Chief Executive (CEO)

Alisdair Cameron Chief Financial and Operations Officer (CFOO)
In Attendance: Jane MacLeod General Counsel & Company Secretary (JM)

Tom Cooper UKGI (TC)

Veronica Branton Minute Secretary (VB)

Andy Parsons Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (AP)

Angela Van-Den- Network Change Operations Manager (A VDB)

Bogerd

Rod Williams Head of Legal: DR & Brands (RW)

Mark Underwood Head of Portfolio: Legal, Risk & Governance (MU)
Apologies: None ACTION

These minutes contain legally privileged information which was discussed
with both internal and external counsel in attendance.

1. Terms of Reference (ToRs)

It was noted that at the meeting of the Post Office Limited Board on 29 January 2018,
the Board established a committee to receive advice relating to the Postmaster
Litigation. The Company Secretary tabled draft terms of reference for the Committee
which were noted and approved for recommendation to the Board at the next Board
meeting on 27 March 2018. It was explained that day-to-day decisions on the
litigation were taken by the executive but that the Board was consulted in advance of
any significant decisions being taken.

2. Litigation timetable and suggested dates for future meetings

The litigation timetable and suggested dates for future meetings were noted. It was
reported that the Common Issues Trial would be in November 2018 and the Horizon
Trial would be in March 2019. The timing for the Committee meetings had been
scheduled around the key dates in the litigation, as well as also being as close

to Board meetings as possible.

3. Update on developments since January board meeting:

3.1 Scope of disclosure

Mr Parsons noted that to date the Court supported a narrower approach to the
disclosure of documents, however this still amounted to hundreds of thousands of
documents being identified for disclosure, and provision of these documents to the
solicitors for the applicants was underway to support the first hearing in November
regarding the proper construction of the contracts between Post Office and the
applicant postmasters.

Strictly Confidential
POL00117899
POL00117899

Post Office Limited
Postmaster Litigation Subcommittee

3.2

3.3

3.4

Scope of Horizon hearing

It was noted that the Horizon hearing (to be held in March 2019) was limited to
technical questions about how the system operated in branch.

Appointment of IT expert

The appointment of IT experts by both sides to support the Horizon trial was noted.
The quality of the opinion provided by the expert would be critical. The Committee
noted that Dr Robert Worden had been appointed by Post Office Limited and a
summary of his previous experience as an expert witness was discussed.

Application for security for costs

The proposed application for security for costs was noted. Mr Parsons advised that
an application for security for costs was not unusual and that based on the ongoing
discussions, he believed that a consensual agreement could be reached without the
requirement for a court order.

Protocol for engagement with UKGI

The request from UKGI for regular briefings on the progress and status of the litigation
was discussed and it was noted that UKGI and Post Office were discussing a draft
protocol to enable such information to be shared. The Committee noted that such
briefings could involve legally privileged information and that it was important for
such privilege to be maintained.

Contingency planning

The Committee requested work to be undertaken on contingency plans should the
outcome of either or both of the two trials be adverse to Post Office Limited.

It was reported that A VDB was leading on this work and that the Committee would
receive regular updates.

CCRC

It was noted that 33 former Postmasters had applied to the Criminal Cases Review
Commission (‘CCRC’) to review the terms of their convictions. Mr Williams noted that
Post Office was cooperating fully with the CCRC and we believed that they were
nearing the end of their investigations. Nevertheless, Post Office considered it unlikely
that a decision would be made public before the conclusion of the Horizon trial. The
Committee noted that the outcome of the CCRC work could be that cases were
referred to the Court of Appeal.

Strictly Confidential
POL00117899
POL00117899

Post Office Limited
Postmaster Litigation Subcommittee

AOB
Next meeting.

It was noted that at the next meeting on 15 May 2018, Post Office’s appointed QCs
would attend to discuss the progress of the case.

Chairman Date

Strictly Confidential