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From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Louise Chatfield[E~
Thur 17/09/2015 10:20:22 AM (UTC)
FW: in the loop - our response to BBC. Panorama
From: Communications Team
Sent: 17 September 2015 11:05
To: Communications Team
Subject: in the loop - our response to BBC Panorama
Mark Davies
Communications &
Corporate Affairs
Director
Hello
You will recall that in August, the BBC broadcast a Panorama
programme in which very serious allegations were made about the
actions of the Post Office.
In short, it was alleged that some postmasters were prosecuted over
losses in branch when in fact there was no evidence to support such
action. The suggestion was that the losses were caused by flaws in the
Horizon system (despite the absence of any evidence to support this
allegation in the cases referred to).
We made clear at the time that these allegations were not true and
that the programme was highly misleading. We also had some grave
concerns about the way in which the programme was prepared and
whether our position was properly reflected given the BBC’s duty to
ensure coverage is fair and balanced.
I wanted to let you know that this week we have submitted a
formal complaint to the BBC about the Panorama programme.
This followed a meeting I held with the BBC’s director of news
and current affairs and the editor of the Panorama programme.
Please let your teams know about this: it is important that
colleagues across the business are aware that we are highly
active in seeking to defend the business’ reputation in the face
of these unsubstantiated allegations.
I will of course keep you updated and as ever don’t hesitate to drop
me a line with any questions or comments.
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