Post Office scandal comes back to haunt Lib Dem chief after he snubbed wrongly accused staff
LIB Dem leader Sir Ed Davey was slammed last night for snubbing postmasters wrongly accused in an accounting scandal.
A letter which resurfaced today shows the then Postal Affairs Minister turning down a request for talks with the Justice for SubPostmasters Alliance.
Hundreds of them were prosecuted because of a faulty IT accounts system.
The May 2010 correspondence to the group from Sir Ed said: “Whilst I do appreciate your concerns, I do not believe a meeting would serve any useful purpose.”
He has claimed he was “deeply misled by Post Office executives” and was blocked from meeting campaigners.
The Horizon accounting scandal is back in the spotlight following ITV dramatisation Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
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Tory MP Paul Scully said Sir Ed had “flunked his first test of leadership” and should stop trying to “airbrush” his actions.
He told the Sun: “The job of a minister is to probe and get action; basically what he would have expected of a minister had he approached one on behalf of a constituent.
“He's one of several people in power that have failed the hundreds of postmasters affected by the biggest miscarriage of justice in British court history.
“Sir Ed flunked his first test of leadership. The Post office clearly misled plenty of people but being a minister is not just picking up a ministerial car or an entourage for a while, before airbrushing his actions a decade later.
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Records show he did later meet campaigner Alan Bates, played by Toby Jones, in October 2010.
A Lib Dem spokesperson said: "Ed bitterly regrets that the Post Office was not honest with him at the time.
“His heart goes out to the families caught up in this scandal and his focus is now on getting justice and compensation for those impacted.”
Bullied, ignored, betrayed
By Dame Priti Patel, Former Home Secretary
ANYONE watching Mr Bates vs The Post Office will be outraged by the Post Office’s incompetent and callous actions.
As the daughter of a former sub-postmaster, growing up helping in the family shop, I know how hard the victims worked to build up their business.
But these pillars of the community were bullied and betrayed by the Post Office, courts and successive Labour and Lib Dem ministers.
One of my constituents had his concerns about the Horizon system ignored by the Post Office.
Instead of listening, they terminated his contract and ruined his reputation.
He lost his business, incurred losses of more than £100,000 and his marriage broke down.
One of thousands of innocent lives shattered.
The Post Office also covered up their own wrongdoing and conspired to hide the truth about Horizon’s problems.
Concerns raised by MPs, myself included, were ignored, with deceitful responses given.
Even now, with convictions being overturned, some compensation paid and a public inquiry, evidence is being withheld.
None of the Post Office executives responsible have been punished or shown remorse.
In fact, they took fat cat pay cheques and moved on to senior roles in other organisations.
Paula Vennells was made a CBE.
All powers necessary should be used so they face justice, while Alan Bates and the heroes who fought courageously and won should be honoured.