The first of four episodes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office screened on ITV on 1/1/24. Watch this interview with Alan Bates (12.56) where he describes the breathtaking hubris of the UK Post Office which denied for years that its glitchy Horizon software was generating accounting shortfalls, then went on to pursue around 700 subpostmasters for those fictitious shortfalls between 1999 and 2015.
Sir Wyn Williams’ Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, which started in early 2022, is expected to conclude in mid-2024. A raft of charges against an unknown number of individuals (including Post Office lawyers and investigators) are expected to flow from this, and there are calls for former CEO Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE.
For New Zealanders following the Post Office Scandal, we’ll let you know where the Mr Bates vs The Post Office mini-series can be viewed as soon as we find out. Even for those familiar with the various domestic SLAPPs, whistleblower retaliation, and cabal-driven bogus litigation we’ve been covering for years, we have no doubt this one will make your blood boil.
More can be found on www.postofficescandal.uk, and throughout December 2023 we picked out a Nick Wallis trilogy of sorts, republished with permission, with highlights from the Inquiry.