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Our reference: [PFA Reference]
STRICTLY PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
TO BE OPENED BY ADDRESSEE ONLY
Recipient name
Address line 1
Address line 2
Town/City
Postcode
Date -
Dear [insert name],
Important information about previous court
convictions
Our records show that you may have been convicted in the courts following an issue
with discrepancies in the branch accounts when you worked for Post Office. If this
is correct, please contact us as you may wish to consider appealing that conviction
following recent judgments. If so, we can provide you with further information.
If our record
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Background
A number of historical convictions have been referred to the Criminal Case Review
Commission ["CCRC”]. The CCRC has determined it’s possible that some of these
convictions were unsafe. We have provided a list of websites with further information
on this at the end of this letter.
In accordance with our duties as a former prosecutor, Post Office has a continuing
duty to supply you with any new information which emerges. We are therefore
conducting a Post-Conviction Disclosure Exercise [“PCDE”] and new information from
this may help you decide if you wish to appeal your conviction. The PCDE covers cases
prosecuted by Post Office (or Royal Mail Group) between July 1999 and December
2013.
Next steps
If you would like to find out more about this, please contact us at
i r [PO Box address]. We will also need to verify your
identity - for this, so please email us photographs or scans of two documents listed at
the end of this letter, one from list 1 and one from list 2.
PostOffice.co.uk
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Once we verify your identity, we will contact you (or your representative) with
guidance about the potential appeal of your conviction. We have worked with the
CCRC to produce this guidance. We also need to make material available to you (or
your legal representative) from the PCDE.
If the named addressee has since passed away, their legally appointed representative
or next of kin can contact us about a conviction for that person. We will need
confirmation of this legal relationship and will let you know what documents to send
us - please contact us if this is the case.
Important information on legal advice
A conviction can only be overturned through the courts and by following the legal
procedures. Post Office cannot provide you with any legal advice, so we will keep our
communication with you about this as simple as possible.
The process can be complicated and we recommend that you consider taking
professional legal advice to assist you.
If you do not have your own legal representative you might wish to contact Citizens
Advice or the Law Society (details below). Several law firms are already involved
in appeal cases against Post Office. You can find a list of these law firms at the end of
this letter. Please note that we cannot make any recommendation about whether you
should use any of these law firms. You will need to make your own enquiries about
these and other suitable firms (including discussions about how much they will
charge).
If you decide to use a legal representative, please let us know their contact
details when you respond so we can communicate with them on your behalf as
appropriate.
Thank you for your time. We realise that this letter may cause concern or
uncertainty and if you are unsure about anything in this letter please do not hesitate
to contact us at disclosur }
Yours sincerely,
Declan Salter
Director - Historical Matters
disclosuret
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Copies of required documents to verify your identity
List 1 - one of the following showing identity details including your signature:
e Current signed passport (the picture page) or
e Current UK or EEA photocard driving licence
One of the above documents is preferred, but if you don’t have either of them please
email us a copy of one of the following instead, again showing your signature where
possible:
Birth Certificate (short version is acceptable)
EEA member state identity card
Full old-style driving licence
Benefit book or original notification letter from Benefits Agency
Firearms or shotgun certificate
Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EEA nationals on sight of own
country passport
¢ National identity card bearing your photograph
List 2 - one of the following showing current address details:
e Utility bill (gas, electricity, satellite television, landline phone bill) issued within
the last three months
e Local authority council tax bill for the current tax year/Rates demand from
Land and Property Services in Northern Ireland
e Current UK driving licence (but only if not used for list 1 above)
¢ Bank, Building Society or Credit Union statement or passbook dated within the
last three months
e Original mortgage statement from a recognised lender issued for the last full
year
¢ Solicitor’s letter within the last three months confirming recent house purchase
or land registry confirmation of address
e Council or housing association rent card for the current year
¢ Benefit book or original notification letter from Benefits Agency (but not if used
for list 1 above)
¢ HMRC self-assessment letters or tax demand dated within the current financial
year
e Electoral Register entry
e NHS Medical card or letter of confirmation from GP’s practice of registration
with the surgery
If you have changed your name since you were convicted, as well as copies of one
document from List 1 and one from List 2 above, please also provide:
e Acopy of your marriage certificate or
e Acopy of your change of name deed
The documents you provide are used only for verification and identity purposes and
are deleted from our systems once these checks have been made.
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These websites will tell you more about the CCRC:
https://cerc.gov.uk/ccre-to-refer-39-post-office-cases-on-abuse-of-process-argument/
https://ccrc.gov.uk/the-ccrc-refers-eight-more-post-office-cases-for-appeal-bringing-
total-to-47-so-far/
https://ccrc.gov.uk/ccrc-refers-four-more-post-office-horizon-cases/
For further information on finding legal help, we suggest that you look at the
Citizens Advice and Law Society websites below:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/finding-free-or-
affordable-legal-help/
https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk
Here is a list of law firms involved in Post Office related appeal cases (in
alphabetical order as at [DATE]):
Aliant Law
Aria Grace Law
Bhatia Best Solicitors
Clarke Kiernan LLP
CLP Solicitors
Edward Fail Bradshaw & Waterson Solicitors
Gullands Solicitors
Hudgell Solicitors
Lewis Rodgers Solicitors & Advocates
Lords Solicitors (Wakefield) Ltd