POST OFFICE: HORIZON SCANDAL – POST OFFICE RESPONSE TO CCRC

Further to LTB 482/20 dated 1^st October, Branches will recall that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred 47 cases of former Postmasters prosecuted by the Post Office in relation to the Horizon computer system to the Court of Appeal.  Earlier today, the Post Office announced that it will not oppose 44 of the 47 appeals in which it acted as prosecutor, meaning that in all likelihood these victims of terrible injustice will have their convictions quashed and hopefully they will be fully exonerated and will receive decent compensation for the long drawn out misery they have suffered.

The Court of Appeal however still needs to make this decision, as explained via the following Tweet from the CCRC earlier today:

“Certainly seems encouraging for those who’ve been told Post Office will not oppose their appeals. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s the Court of Appeal that will decide whether or not to quash the convictions referred to it by @ccrcupdate”

Nick Wallis, the leading journalist who has been following the Horizon scandal for ten years and was instrumental in bringing about broadcasts such as the BBC Panorama programme “Scandal at the Post Office” and the BBC Radio 4 series “The Great Post Office Trial” Tweeted the following this morning:

“I understand the Post Office have decided to contest 3 of the 47 cases referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. That essentially means 44 people have wrongly been given criminal convictions by the Post Office’s own admission. #PostOfficeScandal”

The full press statement from the Post Office can be accessed via the following link:

https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/secure-corporate/media-centre/post-office-media-centre/#/pressreleases/post-office-statement-on-postmasters-appeals-of-historical-convictions-3039904

As a consequence of these developments, please see below a link to a CWU web article:

https://www.cwu.org/news/justice-for-postmasters-with-more-horizon-humiliation-for-shamed-post-office-bosses/

It should be noted that the 47 cases referred by the CCRC relate to England and Wales only and the Scottish CCRC (SCCRC) is also considering whether to send cases to the Court of Appeal in Scotland.  A BBC article outlining this position was published on Wednesday:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54339004

Furthermore, below is a link to an ITV story published today:

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-10-02/post-office-scandal-dozens-of-postmasters-celebrate-landmark-victory-over-historic-convictions

Clearly, the Horizon scandal is one of the biggest ever miscarriages of justice and those Senior Directors and Managers in the Post Office who were directly responsible need to be held to account.  It is therefore disappointing that the Inquiry to be led by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams will not be statutory and it will not be able to legally compel those responsible to give evidence.  The Union will continue to campaign and lobby for justice.

Today’s development is another key milestone for Postmaster victims of the Horizon scandal.  However, there are people who were in high positions of authority within the Post Office who are culpable in this matter and this must be exposed in order that full justice is secured for those who were wronged.

Further developments will be reported.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be directed to Andy Furey’s Department.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB 486/20 – POST OFFICE HORIZON SCANDAL – POST OFFICE RESPONSE TO CCRC

RMG Free Flu Voucher Scheme 2020

Following a number of enquiries into both departments, we can confirm that PFSL staff are
definitely included in the RMG Flu Voucher Scheme. Whilst of course it is a voluntary benefit, we
encourage our members to take up the offer.

Please refer to LTB 478/20 dated 30th September for further details if required.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference: 600
email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org or khay@cwu.org reference 420.

Yours sincerely,

Mick Kavanagh – Assistant Secretary (Acting) 
Carl Maden – Assistant Secretary (Acting)

LTB 485/20 – Flu Voucher Scheme

Royal Mail Group – Latest Updated Coronavirus/Covid-19 – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Guidance Document (Version 59)

I attach for your information Version 59 of the Royal Mail Group, Managers’ Coronavirus/Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Guidance document, issued by the business on 30 September 2020.

At the commencement of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak, Royal Mail Group established a ‘Business Pandemic Team’ which includes all national heads of department and this team meets regularly to review the situation across Royal Mail Group and to issue update Questions and Answers information communications to all managers, which is cascaded throughout the business.

Attached is a copy of the version 59 Q&A document which has been shared with the Union. It is hereby circulated for information and reference purposes for CWU Health and Safety and Branch IR Reps.

The Q&A documents are circulated to all RMG managers and are also available to access through a link on the Royal Mail Group ‘Intranet’, in the ‘Managers Update Messages’ section.

Please note that changes and additions from the last versions 57 and 58 are highlighted in ‘Yellow’.

The Health, Safety & Environment Department continues in dialogue with the Royal Mail Group Safety Health & Environment Team to raise additions and amendments to the Q&A document.

Any enquiries to this LTB or feedback on the RMG Q&A document should be directed to Dave Joyce CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

20LTB484 Royal Mail Group – Latest Updated Coronavirus Covid-19 – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Guidance Document (Version 59)

Coronavirus Guidance Questions and Answers v59

Black History Month

The CWU is commemorating Black History Month and remembering the contribution of Black men and women and more recently other ethnic BAME groups.

We are delighted to confirm that we have put together, in conjunction with our National BAME NEC representative Ali Moosa, a series of events that will be run over the coming weeks, as part of this year’s Black History Month celebrations.

The Black History Month events programme list and dates are as follows:

Wednesday 21^st October 2020 at 6.30pm – Panel Session on Role of the Commonwealth during WWI & WWII (further details including registration will be circulated soon).

Wednesday 28^th October 2020 – Launch of ‘My Journey’ video. This will be a series of short videos merged into a short film that will highlight the often difficult journeys that member’s families have had in coming to the UK decades ago.

Film Night. We will be communicating the details of the film night nearer the time but essentially we will announce a film/documentary and ask people to watch it. During the viewing an online discussion will commence using various platforms (Facebook, Twitter etc) with a dedicated hashtag inviting members to comment and discuss the programme.

We would urge Branches to encourage members to participate in these events.

Any queries on this LTB should be directed to Equality&Education@cwu.org

Kate Hudson

Head of Equality, Education & Development

20LTB483 – Black History Month

POST OFFICE: HORIZON SCANDAL – INQUIRY DETAILS

Further to LTB480/20 Dated 29th September.

Following the Government’s announcement on Tuesday regarding the Horizon Inquiry, yesterday we received further information from the Inquiry Secretariat in the form of an email which is reproduced below for your information:

Dear Sirs,

Yesterday Sir Wyn Williams FLSW was announced as the Chair of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, as a result of which he will make findings and recommendations for publication in 2021.

Sir Wyn is committed to hearing from the postmasters, and/or their representative parties, working with the contemporary Horizon terminals and software to ensure his inquiry addresses the current service offer from the Post Office Limited to postmasters.

Sir Wyn would also like to hear from any individuals and third parties who have been or are currently involved in dispute management between the Post Office Limited and Postmasters in relation to Horizon IT, to ensure his inquiry provides a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon over its lifetime. Sir Wyn welcomes any information you consider relevant to the inquiry and that this will be evaluated alongside the responses to a formal call for evidence and the postmaster survey mentioned further below.

The inquiry will also hear from the affected individuals and groups of the longstanding Horizon dispute to ensure his inquiry acknowledges the human impact of this matter. Sir Wyn will ensure there is dedicated space to receive this evidence through planned engagements. The detail for these engagements will be released in due course.
There will also be a formal call for evidence in November 2020, and the postmaster survey (due in early 2021) mentioned further below. Taken
together, these engagements and other meetings should provide the range of evidence necessary to the Inquiry’s terms of reference.

Overview of the inquiry

The inquiry will provide a public summary of the key events and failings that occurred at the Post Office Limited in relation to the Horizon IT system.
The terms of reference commit to build upon the findings of the Horizon and Common Issues trials by establishing a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon over its lifecycle. The Inquiry will assess whether lessons have been learned and the changes that are being made.

Additionally, the Inquiry will examine whether the current governance and whistleblowing controls are sufficient.

Engagement
Sir Wyn will engage with both current and former postmasters, the Post Office Limited, Fujitsu, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. The Inquiry will also seek evidence from those third parties who have represented postmasters’ interests, or who have been involved in mediation and/or dispute resolution processes with the Post Office Limited. Engagement with these groups will be via a combination of formal and informal consultations and information requests.
To obtain the relevant evidence and support Sir Wyn Williams’ engagement aims, the Inquiry will be launching a Call for Evidence in November 2020. This will be open for 12 weeks, and in early 2021 a survey will be distributed to current postmasters. The Survey will be open for 12 weeks.

The Inquiry will engage with former postmasters to obtain their accounts and testimonies, which will assist with providing a public record of the impact that the Horizon IT matter has had.

Sir Wyn Williams and his Secretariat will engage with stakeholders through correspondence (email, post, and telephone appointments) as well as face to face (where possible and consistent with applicable law and COVID guidance) and virtual meetings.

Outreach
The Secretariat will be in touch again in due course to arrange a time and date to discuss next steps, and to hear from you directly on Inquiry matters.

Governance
The inquiry will be led by Sir Wyn Williams, as the Independent Chair he will be supported by a dedicated Secretariat and up to four Independent Advisers. These Independent Advisers will support Sir Wyn Williams by providing advice on the sources, content and interpretation of evidence received (other than the
findings in Mr Justice Fraser’s judgments). They may also provide independent scrutiny and challenge in relation to emerging findings and recommendations.

As you would expect, we will be working with Bill Taylor, Head of Research and Andrew Towers, Head of Political Strategy, alongside Mark Baker, Postmasters Branch Secretary to co-ordinate our activities going forward, which will include submissions to the Inquiry. It should be noted there is nothing in the above email about accountability, or penalties for those culpable and compensation for those wronged. However, from our perspective this position will not inhibit the content of any submissions we make.

The link to the full Terms of Reference to the Inquiry is as follows:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-2020/terms-of-reference

Finally, a web article on this matter has been published and can be accessed via the following link.

https://www.cwu.org/news/post-office-horizon-scandal-sir-wyn-williams-to-head-inquiry/

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

20LTB482 Post Office – Horizon Scandal – Inquiry Details