UKGI00003670- Email from Ministerial Advice Team to Laura Thompson cc Richard Callard re Post Office core brief for PMQs tomorrow

Evidence on official site

UKG1I00003670
UKGI00003670

From: Ministerial Advice Team[/O=BIS PRODUCTION/OU=EXCHANGE ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=3759732953E24C9B9C5F1DE41AAA3D38-
MINISTERI]

Sent: Tue 10/03/2015 1:07:56 PM (UTC)

To: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive} GRO
Ce: Callard Richard (ShEx
Subject: RE: Post Office core brief for PMQs tomorrow

This is lovely, thanks. I will alert No.10.
LL

From: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive)

Sent: 10 March 2015 13:00

To: Ministerial Advice Team

Cc: Callard Richard (ShEx)

Subject: RE: Post Office core brief for PMQs tomorrow

Hey — will this do? Shout if too long and I will try to trim. It is VERY hard to explain this briefly!

PMQ line
e The Hon Member will appreciate that details of disputes between Post Office and its subpostmasters are
confidential to those involved and not a matter for Government. The most important thing is that Post Office
are committed to helping resolve those disputes through mediation.
¢ People who run and work in Post Offices up and down the country can be confident that independent
investigations have found no systemic issues with the Horizon IT system, meaning they can go on performing
their vital role in our communities.

Background

e Following allegations by a small number (c.150) of former subpostmasters about defects in the Horizon IT
system which runs in all Post Office branches, Post Office commissioned a report by independent
investigators who found there are no systemic issues with the system. This was published in July 2013.

¢ Post Office then set up a complaint review and mediation scheme so that these subpostmasters could have
their claim investigated, and proceed to mediation if that were appropriate. The scheme has been running for
18 months. It is independent of Government.

e Of those cases, around 56 have already been closed through mediation or other means. Post Office have now
announced they will mediate all the remaining cases not involving a Court ruling, and consider the remainder
on a case by case basis.

Several MPs have shown an interest in this issue, with people saying they have been wrongfully charged of
false accounting or made to make up losses they did not create. James Arbuthnot MP has led the group of
MPs with an interest in this issue. The BIS Select Committee took evidence from various witnesses including
Post Office on 3 February 2015.

Laura Thompson I Assistant Director I Shareholder Executive
-

From: Ministerial Advice Team

Sent: 10 March 2015 10:52

To: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive)
Subject: RE: Post Office core brief for PMQs tomorrow
UKG1I00003670
UKGI00003670

Hello my lovely

It’s me (Leonie) not Abdurrahman! Short defensive lines and a short background para would be great. Thanks very
much!

LL

From: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive)
Sent: 10 March 2015 10:25

To: Ministerial Advice Team

Cc: Callard Richard (ShEx); Baugh James (ShEx)
Subject: Post Office core brief for PMQs tomorrow

Hi Abdurrahman

There will be an announcement made by Post Office later today which a fair few MPs may be interested in, and as
such there’s a slim chance it could be raised at PMQs tomorrow.

Is it best to just update the usual POL core brief, or provide you with some short defensive lines instead? We should
get a better idea later this afternoon of the level of interest / reaction from Parliament. I have checked the list of MPs
down to ask questions and none of them are known to us on this issue, but you never know.

Let me know what works best

Cheers

Laura Thompson I Assistant Director, Post Office Network Team I Shareholder Executive
BIS, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H OET i
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-sharehoider-executive
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is making a difference by supporting sustained growth and
higher skills across the economy. BIS: working together for growth