Ex-Post Office chief asked "are we the baddies?" | Jeremy Vine

Mark Davies has been asked at the Horizon inquiry if he ever stopped to consider that he and other bosses might be the villains.
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#JeremyVine #PostOffice #Inquiry

[@peterwhitear7716]

they all should be jailed for the amount of time this had been going on ( 20yrs )

[@johnclarke-vs9qe]

The courts should be forced to explain if the postmasters had "stolen money", where was it?, what had they done with it? I think Mrs Misra was convicted of stealing £75k, where was any of it? Shocking by our courts!

[@margaretfitzgerald1489]

I could never understand that

[@fgrsimon]

Yes, this should have been the first principle of every one of these prosecutions. Where did the missing money go? If it's not possible to prove where the money went then it's not missing. Lee Castleton was accused of taking over £300,000. You simply can't lose that sort of money without some sort of money laundering operation.

[@eljay5746]

This is the smoking gun. Not one on the prosecution side thought to ask that question of the PO. This includes the Judges at all the trials prior to the appeal case. Do none of these so called learned individuals not have any common sense. Why was the increase in profits from the PO suspense account not queried by the financial accountants Ernst & Young. How can it be declared a profit when it was balancing a shortfall. Appears as though false accounting was being undertaken by the PO.

[@24321619]

@@margaretfitzgerald1489 It is called madness!

[@brunopetit9538]

It is just corporate bullying. Let’s not kid ourselves on as this happens each and every day in so many organisations. Seen it and been subjected to it myself.

[@Chanesmyname]

Justice must be done for the innocent victims of a corporate monster, surely.

[@JB-wy8fc]

In reality. Justice is rarely done

[@stuartlawson7977]

Don't forget who owns the Post Office. The Government.

[@joffey1212]

Tony blair told of horizon bug in 1998 and tories carried on doing diddly squat

[@Philosoph-ali]

Don’t forget who delivers the post, postmen

[@custossecretus5737]

Horizon program in use 1999 Post master convictions 1999-2015 Postal services act 2011 Royal Mail group split in 2012 Royal Mail privatised 2013-2015 Vincent Cable knighted 2015 Sounds to me that this was hushed up to preserve the brand so it didn’t effect the share price when sold.

[@custossecretus5737]

Horizon program in use 1999 Post master convictions 1999-2015 Postal services act 2011 Royal Mail group split in 2012 Royal Mail privatised 2013-2015 Vincent Cable knighted 2015 Sounds to me that this was hushed up to preserve the brand so it didn’t effect the share price when sold.

[@MR-gl9xu]

Dear @stuartlawson7977 Owned by the “Grubberment”!!!

[@kanedNunable]

they should all to go prison.

[@johnrob6132]

These people were totally lacking in morality. They all knew what was going on and the damage they were doing to the sub postmasters but they didn`t care. All their efforts were directed at covering up the truth about the Horizon system and now their sole aim at the enquiry is to cover their backs with the collective "it wasn`t me gov."

[@Galacticmaster]

if they were getting sent to prison, having life savings robbed from them, mortgages cancelled or getting hounded out of their town locally, they would have rethought the whole thing 100%.

[@charlesflouvat1829]

£100,000,000 spent on lawyers might have been a clue?

[@roddersfiftynine]

How many months and hours spent with her lawyers has Vennels had to prepare for her three days before the Inquiry ? Hopefully Jason Beer will make sure she`s not allowed to waffle on. I wonder how many times we will hear "now answer the question I actually asked you please" from Jason Beer KC ? As often as Vennels says "I can not remember" or "I can not recall" ? She may well squirm out an "apology" but I bet the word "sorry" will not pass her lying lips.

[@MrSatnavatron]

Michael Walker being there , really is the cherry on the cake

[@nezbrun872]

Just like a stopped clock, even a communist can very occasionally be right.

[@forsdykemontague1017]

The Post Office is like a civil service government department, they don’t care less, talk about 4 people committing suicide as a result of Post Office indifference, there are 3,500 suicides at the hands of the DWP.

[@damianleah6744]

Arrogant, aloof , and morally bankrupt. They just treated innocent people like thieves. That was their default position.

[@ParanormalUKNetwork]

I'm sorry, but I have to make a correction: at 1:40, it's NOT Royal Mail; it's the Post Office, which is a completely separate country. I'm not saying that RM is any better, but they were not involved in this.

[@fireskycam9889]

It was all about protecting the brand at all costs

[@frankcarter6427]

I'll be glued to my latop for the 3 days of Vennell's testimony

[@motiveintentionsincerity1925]

The depth a person will go to for 'saving face' is phenomenal

[@marcwaller1760]

Why aren’t the judges who presided over these case under investigation?

[@chrisfell5073]

It goes to John Mills (day 121) 1999 he coined "Robust" when knew the system had bugs and was defective. On that basis John Miller the CEO signed the contract. Mills later become acting CEO in 2003 when a joint Independent Expert(Coyn) was appointed who said the system must be full of bugs and defective. Mills signed & authorised £180k payoff and that report was buried (NDA) for 15 + years by the legal department. Mills said sorry 25 years too late. Mills also agreed he was incompetent!!!!

[@melvynofford272]

Also if an IT system is not working correctly why is it always a discrepancy shortfall and never a surplus….

[@elfboy29]

It's a good point. The obvious answer is that some of those with the back door access were taking money from the postmasters, again and again. That's not to let off the management one bit.

[@robdee9341]

Throw away the key...

[@joerudnik9290]

I thought about that myself, if you are that incompetent it should give all kinds of variances.🤨It seems the POL desperately needed a profit ( to receive bonuses) and the found the desperate people, who would provide it. THE BRITISH INQUISITION.

[@lindsayforbes7370]

Jeremy, you ask the key question. How come POL suddenly finds it has 900 criminals from 11,500 post offices?

[@martinobrien7110]

God Bless Mitchell & Webb .

[@billmcle]

Computer says "no"

[@fireskycam9889]

How could they be proud to have had any role in this

[@juliet7703]

I ll be surprised if anyone goes to jail

[@pagliacci2942]

The problem here is where does the share of responsibility lie? How do you find out? These jokers don't even seem to care. Accountability is always the danger issue with corperations and institutions. Surely, if much of the conversations and meetings from the documentary can be verified, much of the blame and consequences should lie at the feet of Paula Anne Vennells, but not forgetting the previous head of Fujitsu from the UK HQ.

[@johngal56]

I suspect that the real reason all these bustards are stonewalling is that there's an unseen force telling them to do so. During the limited trials of Horizon early in 1999 Fujutsu was well aware that the system didn't work but wanted to get back the £350m development costs. The Labour government were made aware of the faulty system and Chancellor Gordon Brown wanted the who.e project scrapped in favour of tendering for another system. However, in Japan, Fujitsu's CEO sent an uncompromising note to Blair saying that if the government scrapped the contract Fujitsu would immediately pull out of the UK altogether. At the same time POL at first refused to sign off the contract given the negative data from the limited trial runs and demanded that the software be rewritten. Eventually POL were forced to accept Horizon with assurances from Fujitsu that any problems would be ironed out over time. Tony Blair has been mostly silent during the whole of this scandal but subsequent Tory administrations are not blameless either. They've all got blood on their hands.

[@dogpound7162]

I can guarantee that it won't be the very top people who risk prison, they may have to sacrifice some underlings though!

[@Mooneyes747]

The fact that he thinks two or three people may go to jail shows he just doesn't understand the magnitude of what has taken place. I feel the board members of both Post office and Fujitsu will never see prison. And if they don't it will show people that there is one law for the rich and connected and one for everybody else. The Post office scandal is everyone's worst nightmare the courts and judges must hand out maximum sentences in every case that comes before it of which there will be many. To do anything less will signal to the world that what has happened to the sub postmasters & mistresses is except able in our society. Compensation for the victims should also be coming from Fujitsu even if that means they go bankrupt. I also hope Mr Bates receives a knighthood in the future.

[@michaelwilliams8690]

Another one , not me governor, just jail him with the rest

[@kennethsimmons2029]

As victim number 1 my big regret is not being aware of the 2700 others and I could have made so much better use of the CWU recognised Philips procedures in the Lee Castleton case if I had been aware of his plight

[@kennethwalsh8804]

Why did Fujitsu's, back office feel the need to "" adjust" the figures ?

[@BLUESKY-zt1nv]

Not a single one of them will end up in Jail ...Paula Vennells has had plenty of time to prepare for this enquiry and help from her lawyers ..get ready to watch Paula Vennells run rings around KC Beer and the rest of them .

[@Heather-zk5eu]

Yes

[@24321619]

2 or 3 people he says at the end, I think he must mean 2 or 3 Hundred!

[@jimoconnor2594]

Don't e-mail Jeremy, he gets upset easily

[@MrTelboy1962]

Bit more research required here, This enquiry is not about Royal Mail Group it's about Post Office Limited though the two companies were once linked. This doesn't come across as very professional journalism when you name the wrong company.

[@audspod1]

Why wont any of these people just state the truth for God's sake!!

[@debibuxton1335]

Because they are morally bankrupt...

[@fireskycam9889]

They’re cowards with no shame or integrity

[@nickjordanmedia]

Royal Mail is not the subject of this inquiry. How sloppy.

[@ronmacfarlane110]

Typical civil servant leaders

[@MAPALMER20]

Post office not Royal Mail

[@leodoherty5304]

Nothing to do with Royal Mail!

[@user-up3do8yo3z]

Davies is a donut. Yes sure you protect public image but not covering up badness

[@a.Mulligan]

Dear Mr Vine That is your greatest ever idea that l have heard you say: air bags on the outside of vehicles Ingenious! Trade mark it now Until all vehicles are banned from cities and replaced by trams🙏

[@JB-wy8fc]

Its a stupid idea. If you think it's smart theres something wrong with your brain. He wants airbags on the outside of cars ONLY because he's a cyclist

[@debibuxton1335]

Me thinks Mulligan maybe using some sarcasm here..

[@JB-wy8fc]

@@debibuxton1335 fair

[@misterbonzoid5623]

Michael! Post Office Limited; not Royal Mail. You should know that duderino.

[@maxxrenn]

Video is wrong. Not the ROYAL MAiIL The POST OFFICE is a different company. Stop tarring the good name of Royal Mail

[@SHADOW.GGG-]

stay away from real news and concentrate on your push bike

[@joffey1212]

Jeremy vile should not be allowed to judge people

[@JB-wy8fc]

But you should?

[@joffey1212]

@JB-wy8fc compared to him yes , certainly

[@eddriley1487]

No other options but jail time for EVERYONE involved in this conspiracy

[@JB-wy8fc]

Well you're definitely crazy

[@dogzero1]

Vennels will lie and excuse her way through the enquiry. It will all be the fault of others and nothing to do with her. Mark my words.