Nobbut Laiking, by Ross Brewster
In risk factor it was a job not far behind attempting a solo ascent of Everest in sandals or diving to the Titanic using a child’s first snorkelling set.
The job? That of a village postmaster in the years between 1999 and 2015.
It was, by any judgement, a dark chapter in the life of the Post Office and the British legal system. What one journalist investigating the prosecution — more like persecution — of dozens of decent, community-minded postmasters described as “a monstrous injustice”.
Every Post Office manager convicted of theft and fraud because of faulty computer systems will be given £600,000 in compensation, the Government announced last week.
There are 86 individuals who have had their convictions overturned. The Horizon scandal led to postmasters being wrongly accused of stealing. Courts routinely relied on evidence from the faulty accounting software, ruining lives and livelihoods. Several postmasters were jailed, some committed suicide. For all involved it was a nightmare seemingly without end.
How did Post Office senior bosses, when 700 operators were being prosecuted, not think “this is wrong, they can’t all have turned into criminals overnight.”
Significantly, while the innocent paid a high price, none of those bosses have been held to account. Ranks were closed, the old boys and old girls’ networks sprang into action.
More than a year into the inquiry not a single person has been held to account. In fact one of the top executives was made a CBE for her services to the Post Office.
The reality is the system will be held responsible and no individuals will be named and shamed, let alone have their collars felt by the law. No knock on the door at dawn for them. Most will have secured lucrative posts elsewhere and the outrage of Horizon quietly put to bed.
So why has no-one faced justice? And how can we believe in the integrity of our legal system after the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history? Britain has long boasted of having the best legal system in the world. Not any more. One has to wonder what kind of defence was put up for these postmasters when the simplest of souls could see gaping holes in the prosecution’s argument that computers are infallible and hundreds of good people suddenly turned into criminals.
Which brings me to that valiant couple Barry and Mary Ford who have left behind the sunshine of Florida for the drizzly south of Scotland, to take over the world’s oldest post office in the village of Sanquhar.
Were they aware of the story of Lee Castleton who bought a Post Office at Bridlington on the east coast in 2003 and was charged with a £25,000 shortfall despite 91 fruitless calls to a post office helpline. In court he was ordered to repay the £25,000 and costs of £312,000.
The Post Office denies bullying him into dropping his appeal. But Lee said the state-owned company seemed determined to “show the world” it had to defend Horizon.
A lot of cases never got the publicity they deserved. Accounting is not the stuff of headlines. Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told the Commons “this is about righting a wrong.” It will take a long time for this stain to be removed for whose lives have forever been ruined. No £600,000 will ever compensate them.
Cutting down of the Sycamore Gap tree is sad, but not tragic
“It’s a tragedy, a disaster,” said the bloke tearfully as he was interviewed for the telly about the felling of one of the north’s most famous landmarks, the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall.
I was as upset as anyone to see the fallen tree, victim of an alleged vandal attack.
It meant a lot to a lot of folk. A place where marriages were proposed and the ashes of the dear departed scattered. A favoured haunt of amateur photographers and walkers on the wall.
A tragedy? A disgraceful act, yes. A poignant loss for many.
But compared to 200,000 dead in Libya’s flood, another senseless stabbing of a child in London and a bus crash involving schoolchildren, no, not a tragedy.
It’s a sad story. But let’s not over-hype our words. If the death of a tree is a tragedy, where does that leave us when describing an earthquake or tsunami?
See you later alligator
If fans turn up with their pets to inspect Penrith Football Club’s brand spanking new pitch at Frenchfield, I hope they don’t follow the example of Joe Henney whose support of Philadelphia Phillies American Football team extends to having his assistance animal on his knee. The animal concerned being a 5ft alligator named Wally.
Joe maintains his GP has registered Wally as “an emotional support animal”. If you’d got the seat next to Wally you definitely would need emotional support.
Farewell to Illya Kuryakin
Farewell to Illya Kuryakin, one of the Men From Uncle, or more accurately actor David McCallum who played the role of the Russian agent.
I remember watching Napoleon Solo and Illya getting into scrapes on the TV on Friday evenings and I’ve never been in a dry cleaning laundry without wondering if Mr Waverley is behind the door, one touch of the pressing machine away.
