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From: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive)[/O=BIS PRODUCTION/OU=EXCHANGE
ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=73D8709345C441479FOD7E2ADCE207C9-
LATHOMPS]
Sent: Wed 02/09/2015 11:12:42 AM (UTC)
To: ; Kilgarriff Patrick (LEGAL
Ce: Callard Richard (ShEx)f,
Subject: FW: Post Office - Horizon
Attachment: Post Office Meeting3.docx
Anthony, Patrick
Further to our meeting with Baroness Neville-Rolfe to discuss the Post Office Horizon matter, the Minister has
received additional correspondence from Andrew Bridgen MP (sparked by the recent BBC Panorama programme) and
has asked for further advice. Oliver Letwin is now a signatory to Andrew Bridgen’s email which we believe has
unsettled the Minister.
I’m drawing together a note for the Minister with handling and a proposed response to Bridgen, and we have
commissioned some line-by-line rebuttal of the allegations raised in Panorama from Post Office. You'll see from the
email below that the Minister would like the advice to be cleared by the senior officials she met before — that’s you
two! —so this email is to give you a heads-up on that and to check timings. I’Il aim to send something round this
evening if possible, so if you have a chance to take a look over the course of tomorrow morning that would be great. I
am checking whether SpAds (Nick King) will have any opportunity to see and comment late tomorrow. Box deadline is
midday Friday.
Thanks, and very happy to chat through any of this.
Laura
Laura Thompson I Assistant Director I Shareholder Executive
From: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Sent: 26 August 2015 17:09
To: McInnes Tim (ShEx)
Cc: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive); Callard Richard (ShEx); SpAd Javid MPST; Neville-Rolfe MPST
Subject: RE: Post Office - Horizon
Tim,
Baroness Neville-Rolfe has come back and has said that she would like ready for her return a substantive response to
the MPs which addresses the points raised by Andrew Bridgen.
Alongside this she would also like fuller advice on the issues and on all the accusations in the programme as she is
concerned that there are now 4 important people who are not going along with our approach along with an
assessment of the tactical handling options and how these will play out, including the involvement of Tim Parker and
how we use this to best effect.
Finally she would like the advice cleared by the senior officials present at the meeting about the post office held
before recess. The minutes of this meeting are attached for reference.
Kind regards
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ry. Andrew Smith
Private Secretary to Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State and Minister for Intellectual Propert
Department — Sen a rece anrreennenene be ng
for Business iL __GRO _
Innovation & Skills Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H
OET
www.gov.uk/bis If” GRO _ II blogs.bis.gov.uk
BIS I Connecting people to opportunity and prosperity
Please note: in line with Cabinet Office guidance MPST does not keep records of Ministerial business. Responsibility for storing
records sits with the relevant departmental team. Please ensure you are familiar with what records you need to be keeping and
are storing them appropriately.
From: McInnes Tim (ShEx)
Sent: 25 August 2015 12:41
To: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Cc: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive); Callard Richard (ShEx)
Subject: RE: Post Office - Horizon
Andrew,
Further to our conversation a minute ago please see below some square bracketed wording that touches on the
possibility of having a meeting with Bridgen, after the meeting with Arbuthnot. The rest of the proposed wording is
unchanged.
As discussed, as there was nothing new in the Panorama broadcast, as a meeting with Arbuthnot is already
happening, as a meeting with Bridgen has already taken place, and as the Minister has already asked Tim Parker to
take a fresh look when he arrives in October, we do not necessarily think a further meeting with Bridgen will achieve
anything at the present time.
Clearly if you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to call me.
Thanks,
Tim
PROPOSED NEW WORDIN
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your recent email.
As you are aware I am meeting with James Arbuthnot in September regarding Post Office and I expect that discussion
to touch on a range of points, including the allegations raised in the recent BBC Panorama broadcast.
[At that meeting I will also make sure we discuss what further action might be appropriate. If a meeting with you
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represents the right course of action at that point I would be more than willing to consider it.]
You will also be aware that I have asked Tim Parker, Post Office Limited’s new Chair, to take a close look at Horizon
when he takes up his role in October. Tim has a strong background working in a range of complex organisations, as a
senior executive and as a Board member, and I am confident that his fresh pair of eyes will provide some further
reassurance to you.
In light of the above and, in addition, given both Post Office’s ongoing commitment to the mediation scheme and the
applications by subpostmasters that have been made to the Criminal Case Review Commission, I do not believe that it
would be appropriate for Government to take any further action at this time. This includes launching an independent
investigation into Horizon.
I look forward to discussing the matter with James Arbuthnot next month.
Kind regards,
[e]
From: McInnes Tim (ShEx)
Sent: 25 August 2015 10:43
To: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Cc: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive); Callard Richard (ShEx)
Subject: RE: Post Office - Horizon
Andrew,
Further to your email and our conversation from yesterday please see below a little background on the points raised
by Andrew Bridgen and a proposed response to his email. I have discussed the proposed response with Richard.
Post Office have also confirmed that the subpostmaster in Oliver Letwin’s constituency is Tracey Merritt, who was
mediated in November 2014. No prosecution was mounted against her, and while settlement options were discussed
in the mediation process no agreement was ultimately reached. As I am sure you understand, Post Office are unable
to share the details of this mediation process. In addition Post Office have assured us that they did everything in their
power to try and reach a reasonable outcome, and that this has been confirmed by a confidential email from the
mediator involved.
If any of this is unclear, or you have any questions please give me a call.
Many thanks,
Tim
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.) Fujitsu Remote Access
¢ Horizon does not have functionality that allows Post Office or Fujitsu to edit or delete the transactions
recorded by branches. There has been no evidence in any case reviewed as part of the Scheme that shows
that these controls have failed or that the above statement is incorrect.
e — It has however always been possible for Post Office to correct errors in and/or update a branch's accounts.
This is most commonly done by way of a transaction correction however it could also be by way of a balancing
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transaction or transaction acknowledgement. A Post Office employee could also, in special circumstances, log
on to a branch terminal locally (i.e. by being physically in a branch) using a new User ID and password and
then conduct transactions (though these would register against that unique User ID).
e All of the above processes for correcting / updating a branch's accounts have similar features. All of them
involve inputting a new transaction into the branch's records (not editing or removing any previous
transactions) and all are shown transparently in the branch transaction records available to Subpostmasters
(as well as in the master ARQ data).
2.) Second Sight Allegations
e Second Sight has written to Ministers to complain its report has been misrepresented and now appear to be
asserting that systemic flaws in Horizon do exist. Second Sight’s reports have not identified any link between
Horizon and the losses to the postmasters in the cases they reviewed, nor has it identified any transaction
caused by a technical fault in Horizon which has resulted in a postmaster wrongly being held responsible for a
loss. There is no evidence that the Horizon system does not work as it should.
e There is, in fact, overwhelming evidence that the losses complained of were caused by user actions, including
in some cases, deliberate dishonest conduct.
PROPOSED RESPONSE
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your recent email.
As you are aware I am meeting with James Arbuthnot in September regarding Post Office and I expect that discussion
to touch on a range of points, including the allegations raised in the recent BBC Panorama broadcast.
You will also be aware that I have asked Tim Parker, Post Office Limited’s new Chair, to take a close look at Horizon
when he takes up his role in October. Tim has a strong background working in a range of complex organisations, as a
senior executive and as a Board member, and I am confident that his fresh pair of eyes will provide some further
reassurance to you.
In light of the above and, in addition, given both Post Office’s ongoing commitment to the mediation scheme and the
applications by subpostmasters that have been made to the Criminal Case Review Commission, I do not believe that it
would be appropriate for Government to take any further action at this time. This includes launching an independent
investigation into Horizon.
I look forward to discussing the matter with James Arbuthnot next month.
Kind regards,
[e]
From: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Sent: 24 August 2015 13:49
To: McInnes Tim (ShEx)
Subject: FW: Post Office - Horizon
Tim,
Apologies copying you in as per Richard’s out of office.
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Kind regards
Andrew Smith
From: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Sent: 24 August 2015 12:54
To: Callard Richard (ShEx)
Cc: Thompson Laura (Shareholder Executive); Dollin Michael (Shareholder Executive); SpAd Javid MPST; Neville-Rolfe
MPST
Subject: FW: Post Office - Horizon
Richard,
Please can I have some urgent advice regarding this e-mail.
Kind regards
bd Andrew Smith
Private Secretary to Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Parliamentary Under
Department
for Business
Innovation & Skills Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H
OET
www.gov.uk/bis I GRO I blogs.bis.gov.uk
BIS I Connecting people to opportunity and prosperity
Please note: in line with Cabinet Office guidance MPST does not keep records of Ministerial business. Responsibility for storing
records sits with the relevant departmental team. Please ensure you are familiar with what records you need to be keeping and
are storing them appropriately.
From: BRIDGEN, Andrew ; GRO j
Sent: 24 August 2015 12:50
To: Neville-Rolfe MPST
Cc: JONES, Kevan; LETWIN, Oliver
Subject: RE: Post Office - Horizon
Dear Lucy,
We write further to your letter dated 14th August 2015 regarding the Post Office Horizon software. In light of the
subsequent BBC Panorama programme broadcast on the 17th August, all three of us representing those of our
constituents who have been affected, now request a further meeting to discuss this matter.
There were several allegations in the broadcast which we feel need urgent attention -- the two principal issues being
(1) the statement from the Fujitsu whistle blower that transactions could be remotely manipulated and (2) the
statements by Second Sight which contradicted the version of the Second Sight report that the Post Office has
presenting to Ministers, MPs and the media.
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In light of these serious developments, we are convinced that the interests of our constituents require this matter to
be independently investigated -- ideally by a private sector entrepreneur with experience of managing organisations
of this scale. We would suggest someone with the standing of Sir Terry Leahy or Baron Rose of Monewden to
undertake such a review.
We very much hope you will be willing to meet us to discuss this matter as soon as possible.
Kind Regards,
Andrew Bridgen MP Kevan Jones MP Oliver Letwin MP
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