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From: Elliot Jacobs
Sent: Wed 31/01/2024 3 PM (UTC)
To: Saf ismail Cc Owen Woodley,”
Ce: i }; Nick
Subject: Martin Roberts
Hi Owen,
As promised, Saf and I sat down and talked with Martin after the Board meeting yesterday.
An honest and open discussion was had and we believe we had put the matter to bed.
This evening, we have received the email below from Martin asking us to retract the statements
made in the document.
Whilst we have both made clear the tone and way it was delivered was unacceptable and should
never had been circulated; the content is not something we feel is incorrect with regards to the Retail
team leadership and performance.
When we look at the points in question, our position remains that these are both important and
urgent issues that must be addressed, not ignored - regardless of how they have come into his
mailbox.
1. Phoenix - this should be dealt with by now and has been left too long without resolution.
2. Proposed PM NED replacement plan - will leave a significant void in the PM capability in
senior decision making/knowledge in the business. Which members of Board have commented
as not in the business' best interest at this time.
3. Putting stamps on PM's Horizon systems without consent is plain wrong and should never
have happened the way it was done.
4. Not having properly dealt with the multiple complaints that we have been told exist and
have been registered against MR is unacceptable and goes to the Culture issue which we
have discussed at length.
5. Lack of engagement by the PM Engagement team with the NEDs - we are sidelined and
rarely consulted by the PM Engagement team on anything.
6. Path-clearing presents a significant issue for the company both optically and operationally -
as flagged previously at multiple Board meetings, but now far more evidently.
None of the above represent issues that we believe we can or should withdrawal from the record -
however they were inappropriately delivered to the people who received them as a result of Henry's
actions.
We have a call booked with Martin for our quarterly catch up tomorrow morning (a standing call in
the diary) - and we are not looking to inflame matters further, but clearly, we cannot just issue some
sort of blanket withdrawal.
As such, your guidance would be appreciated on how you think we should approach this.
Elliot
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From: Martin Roberts <
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 5:39 PM
To: Elliot Jacobs
Subject: Project Pineapple
Saf ismail
Elliot /Saf,
I appreciate you taking the time last evening to apologise and explain the dreadful situation I found myself in over the
last few weeks.
The allegations and comments were uncalled for and upset me a great deal and should never have happened and the
detail sent to me under the title Project Pineapple was unacceptable.
I would now ask that you please put in writing the apology and retract all the allegations and statements presented in
the email that I was copied in on.
I look forward to receiving the email reply so we can move on and continue working together.
Best
Martin
Martin Roberts
Group Chief Retail Officer
100 Wood Street
London, EC2V 7ER
postoffice.co.uk