Law firm hired to defend shameless post office bosses against Bates was paid £37.5m as postal workers suffered
A law firm hired to defend shameless post office bosses against Bates was paid a whopping £37.5 million, while postal workers suffered.
Womble Bond Dickinson, based in Londonrepresented the Post office against civil class action by former subpostmaster Alan Bates in 2017.
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Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of theft after the company failed Horizon accounting system made it seem like money was missing from their branches.
The Post Office also forced at least 4,000 branch managers to give cash refunds based on the flawed data.
Some victims were treated jail Or financially ruined, others were shunned by their communities, while some committed suicide.
a TalkTV Investigations reveal that over a ten-year period between 2013 and 2023, the company raised £37,498,000 for work on behalf of the Post Office in relation to the class actions, remediation and Horizon IT-public research.
Womble previously also served in an advisory role, but played no role in the criminal prosecutions for the post office.
I felt there was a computer error, a computer problem, and they just ignored me.
Lee Castleton
And a victim of the scandal, TalkTV told how he contemplated suicide.
Lee Castleton told Talk Today presenters Jeremy Kyle and Rosie Wright: “What are you doing so very wrong in a retail company that you have to dig into your profits to the tune of £37.5m to defend those things?
“It's just mind-boggling. It's absolutely appalling. To be honest, if it had been a commercial company and not backed by one shareholder, the government, it probably wouldn't have done what it did. That in itself is a travesty .” .”
About ending up on the High Courthe said: “Obviously I had a post office and everything went wrong for a period of twelve weeks.
'I made many calls, but no one called me back, trying to warn them of the difficulties I was experiencing.
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THE POST OFFICE SCANDAL – A TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS
Here's a timeline of the key events from the scandal:
– 1999
The Horizon IT system is being rolled out in post offices across the UK.
– 2000
Alan Bates reports problems with the Horizon IT system.
– 2003
Alan Bates has had his contract terminated after he refused to accept liability for deficits in the accounts of his branch in Llandudno, North Wales.
– 2004
Lee Castleton, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, was found to have a £25,000 deficit at his branch. He was declared bankrupt after losing his legal battle with the post office.
– 2009
Computer Weekly magazine tells the story of seven subpostmasters as they begin their fight for justice.
The Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance is founded.
– 2010
Pregnant sub-postmaster Seema Misra, who ran a post office in West Byfleet, Surrey, is jailed after being accused of stealing £74,000.
– 2015
Post office boss Paula Vennells tells the business committee there is no evidence of miscarriages of justice.
The Post Office stops prosecuting sub-postmasters.
– 2017
A group of 555 subpostmasters is taking legal action against the post office.
– 2019
A High Court judge ruled that Horizon contained a number of “bugs, errors and defects” and that there was a “material risk” of shortages in Post Office accounts being caused by the system.
The Post Office agreed to pay out £58 million to the 555 sub-postmasters.
Post office boss Paula Vennells is appointed CBE.
– 2020
The post office is not opposing 44 appeals against convictions of sub-postmasters.
– 2021
A legal investigation begins into the shortcomings of the Horizon system and the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters.
The Court of Appeal quashes 39 wrongful convictions at the Crown Court.
– 2023
The government announces that each wrongly convicted sub-postmaster will be awarded £600,000 in compensation.
– 2024
ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office is broadcast for the first time.
The Metropolitan Police say they are looking at “potential fraud offenses arising from these prosecutions”, for example “funds recovered from sub-postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions”.
“I felt there was a computer error, a computer problem, and they just ignored me.
'They then deployed their external legal team, which has now become Womble Bond Dickinson, and they took me to the High Court.
“I represented myself and I lost and they were awarded £321,000 in fees and legal costs.”
Speaking of the scandal, which was thrust into the spotlight by the ITV1 drama Mr. Bates versus the Post Officehe added: “Some people got prison sentences and, bless them, some people, four people committed suicide.
“I have to admit, it was something that went through my head, I'm not proud of that. But very difficult.”
He continued: “It wasn't just me. There are so many of us who have lived through this terrible, terrible unrest.
“That whole package of what they bring you, which is funded by the taxpayer, can once again turn such terrible caricatures against you.
“You feel so helpless. It's unbelievable that people can plan to dissect every part of your life.
'What hurts even more, and still hurts, is that even now they are quite happy to throw millions of taxpayers' pounds at the schemes they are currently talking about as justification, to remove all this awfulness, and to pay for it. of money to people who deserve to have an easier life, while sitting six lawyers in front of those same people trying to enforce claims.
“Trying to 're-punish' these people is what's going on now and this isn't over yet.
“It's just like war. It is not a war for the other victims. This is a traumatized group of people who just want to sit down and talk about how they can bring this to an end and live their lives and move on.
But this anonymous group of people, who are civil servants or MPs, I don't even know who they are, are still being paid millions of pounds in fees to lawyers to drive. [this]…”
The Post Office told The Sun: “This law firm acted as one of the Post Office's lawyers for a long time, undertaking a wide range of work over a period of ten years.
“In 2019, the current management resolved the long-running Horizon case within four months and issued a sincere apology.
“Since then, the Post Office has actively supported efforts to compensate postal workers fairly and promptly and is committed to helping right the wrongs of the past.
“To enable the Post Office to fully respond to requests from the Horizon IT investigation, the company continues to provide support to the investigation team in relation to previous data collection and disclosure exercises undertaken, including as part of the Group Litigation Order. “
Womble Bond Dickinson said: “We have great sympathy for everyone affected by the shortcomings of the Horizon IT system.
“It is important to clarify that freedom of information represents a gross amount for all types of work over a ten-year period.
“This includes significant third-party costs, such as attorneys' fees, which are typically paid by a law company on behalf of a customer.”
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Bullied, ignored, betrayed
By Dame Priti Patel, Former Home Secretary
ANYONE who watches Mr Bates vs The Post Office will be outraged by the incompetent and callous actions of the Post Office.
As the daughter of a former subpostmaster who grew up as a helper in the family store, I know how hard the victims worked to build their businesses.
But these pillars of the community were bullied and betrayed by the post office, the courts and the like Work 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, suffered losses of more than £100,000 and his marriage failed.
One of thousands of innocent lives destroyed.
The post office too covered up their own misconduct and conspired to hide the truth about Horizon's problems.
Concerns from MPs, including myself, were ignored and misleading answers were given.
Even now that the convictions have been annulled, compensation has been paid and a public inquiry has been launched, evidence is being withheld.
None of the Post Office executives responsible have been punished or shown remorse.
In fact, they took big paychecks and moved on to senior positions at other organizations.
Paula Vennells became a CBE.
All necessary powers must be used so that they face justice, while Alan Bates and the heroes who fought bravely and won must be honoured.