POL00258672
POL00258672
From: Rodric Williams _ GRO
Sent: Tue 30/10/2018 4:07:38 PM (UTC)
To:
Ce: i
uk.com]; Melanie Corfi
Subject: RE: Litigation attendance
All
As it is a public hearing, UKGI can attend just as any other member of the public.
That to me is the key bit — they are there as members of the public, not as a representative of either of the parties.
Clear boundaries will therefore need to be understood, including:
- they won't be able to influence or otherwise contribute to how we conduct the trial - indeed they need to be
excluded from those conversations.
- that is essential for ensuring they don’t compromise our conduct of the trial. As David Cavender QC says,
trials have good days and bad days, but it is essential to hold the course over the full distance and not change
tact on subjective whims.
- they must refrain from speaking to anyone about the trial, which extends to identifying who they are and
why they’re there:
o for the big picture reason Mark D gives;
o which ties in to not sending the wrong signals around settlement — having government’s “deep
pockets” hanging around is unhelpful when mediation needs to be considered once judgment has
been given; AND
© to ensure they don’t compromise our conduct of the trial (i.e. “loose lips sink ships...”).
- they need to be extremely careful with note taking / reporting to ensure that whatever they generate and
then circulate is privileged / not disclosable under FOIA.
Happy to expand as required.
Thanks, Rod
From: Mark R Davies
Sent: 30 October 2018 11:43
To: Patrick Bourke <
Cc: Mark Underw
Andrew Parsons f
Subject: Re: Litigation attendance
Jane MacLeod
Rodi
Melanie Corfield:
Very bad idea. Journalists will ask them who they are and then write stories about govt watching over P.O.
Get Outlook for iOS
From: Patrick Bourke}
Sent: Tuesday, October
To: Jane MacLeod; Mark R Davies
Cc: Mark Underwood1; Rodric Williams; Andrew Parsons; Melanie Corfield
Subject: Fwd: Litigation attendance
I think this is poor judgment to say the least.
POL00258672
POL00258672
Could you advise whether you agree and that we should remonstrate ?
Patrick
Get Outlook for iOS
From: Aldred, Tom - UKGIi
Sent: Tuesday, October 30,
To: Patrick Bourke
Subject: Litigation attendance
Patrick
We have previously discussed whether UKGI would attend the trial. I’ve discussed with our legal team and
they believe there is real merit in attending - to get a feel for how each side is presenting their case, what
the key issues are between them and, sometimes, what way the Judge might be leaning.
They will, of course, be discreet.
I wanted to let you know
Tom
Tom Aldred Executive Director
Post Office Shareholder Team
UK Government Investments
1 Victoria_Street_ Landon I SW1H OET
T: GRO PIM:
This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom they are
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this email in error, please notify the sender
and delete the email. This footnote also confirms that our email communications may be monitored to ensure
the secure and effective operation of our systems and for other lawful purposes, and that this email has been
swept for malware and viruses.