Thread by @nickwallis

Just dropped into the inquiry to finally meet Malcolm and Lesley Simpson who I have corresponded with for a while now and have a great affection for. Malcolm is currently describing to the inquiry how he came to be a Postmasters at Box Grove Post Office.
#PostOfficeScandal

I won’t tweet everything he says as the inquiry is being streamed almost-live on youtube here:

youtube.com/channel/UCgijU…

Malcolm didn’t really want to take over the Post Office within his shop (in 2007), but when the existing Subpostmaster [SPM] retired he took it over “I wasn’t 100% happy about it… but it was there, it was an asset to the village”

Malcolm says of his training...

“it was a two week training course… in a Crown Office in Bournemouth… it was very much slanted towards front office, so selling… we did do a couple of balances and back office work but nobody was that confident with it…. nobody balanced. The trainer implied that that was…"

“… normal and that yes, sometimes it will be up, sometimes it will be under, but don’t worry, just keep a pot of money in the safe and that will allow you to put it straight each month.”

He goes on to talk about taking over at his branch.

“I wasn’t the most computer-literate..

… person and I found it quite a confusing system. It wasn’t logical to me… some of the procedures were painful and I didn’t do some of the things I didn’t know how to do.”

Q. How quickly did you start to notice shortfalls?

“Two or three weeks in. A trainer came...

… for one Wednesday evening to do my first balance with me and I think we were £150 short and he said ‘oh that’s the way it is. Go and get the money out of the shop till to balance’ as if it was normal.”

Malcolm says all his initial discrepancies were losses in the low...

… hundreds. Very occasionally it was a surplus.

He was audited in September 2021. Four auditors turn up. They were there for four days.

“A couple of people came and went…. They were… it was a hostile vibe coming off them… I almost felt like I was pleased they were there...

… because I thought we coud get to the bottom of the balance and naively I thought to start with… we’ll get the office straight, we’ll draw a line in the sand, move forward… but no it didn’t.”

Malcolm says that the auditors wouldn’t tell him what his discrepancy was...

… but he was called over and told he wasn’t allowed back behind the counter. “It’s not good.” he was told.The area manager Nigel Allen was called. He called Malcolm back an hour later.

“His first comment was ‘it’s not good, you may as well resign’ - that was the first thing...

… he said. And my first thought going back to my B&Q days ‘hang on this feels like contructive dismissal’ - I said that to him and he very quickly wound up the call and he said ‘You’re going to be suspended’” and then he hung up.”
[Nigel Allen appears in a LOT of SPMR testimony]

The auditors carried on with the audit.

“I wasn’t allowed anywhere near them. Lesley was still making them cups of tea…”

Q. When were you suspended?

“I think on the second day… Nigel Allen rang back just to say ‘you are suspended because of what the auditors found’”

...

Malcolm handed over a cheque for £7000

“we then started having correspondence from Elaine Ridge who I understood to be Nigel Allen’s boss and she spoke to Lesley… by this time I wasn’t in a fit state really to talk to these people and was struggling...

… to do that without bursting ito tears to be honest. So she spoke to Lesley and she said ‘that’s the money that’s missing you need to replace it now, yeah.’”

Malcolm is asked about the NFSP rep sent to “help” him.

“The NFSP rep came that first week in the evening with her...

… son… it was a very busy time for this office and we wanted the community to have a Post Office through Christmas. So they came to arrange for her son to come and be a stand-in Postmasters in the office. Once that was all agreed in this meeting… she then said...

… ‘I can’t come with you to any meetings. I can’t represent you because my son’s working here. You’re on your own’ - that was the words she used. So to answer your question there wasn’t any representation.”

Malcolm didn’t go to any hearings. “I was in no state to go and...

… defend myself by this time and I also felt that it was completely stacked against me and I didn’t see any point in going to… I think they wanted me to go to Southampton just… I knew inevitably… I was going to lose my job so I just didn’t want to put myself through that….

… I felt the whole thing was a sham, really.”

Malcolm describes a clear error he suffered with forex and describes multiple powercuts. Calls the Horizon helpline the “unhelpful” line.

M describes complaining about Nigel Allen to Elaine Ridge who at first ignored him...

.. and then the second time he raised it she said “I’ll speak to him” which M says was “lip service”.

Malcolm’s contract was terminated on 17 October 2012.

He is a big tall man, and has been emotional throughout his testimony. He’s suffered two strokes...

… and says “I’m a bit broken… cautious and scared. I’ve always been somebody who respect authority and expects people to treat you as you treat them… The Post Office… don’t care about anybody and that makes you anxious and scared all the time when you’re working for them...

… and there’s no support… they don’t care… you’re just a number and… I couldn’t cope with that. I’ve always worked in teams and with people who there’s mutual respect and there just wasn’t any of that and it just grinds you down… [he breaks down]… you feel so alone...

… and so… yeah… I’m not as confident as I was.”

Malcolm ended on an emotional hand-written speech which he kindly handed to me as he left the room. I will transcribe it as soon as possible.

What follows is a statement given to the inquiry by Malcolm Simpson, former Postmaster of Boxgrove Post Office near Chichester. The chair of the inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, called it a “formidable speech” and thanked him for it. Malcolm was very emotional as he read it...

… and it got me - primarily because it struck me as a lament, and a universal cry of pain which we have heard and will hear so many times. Ordinary people, properly destroyed, for no reason, by what Lord Cormack called the ‘malevolent incompetence’ of Post Office staff...

… here it is:

"These people take away your sense of worth and your sense of self. There is no need to invest in the individual, to nurture and develop. No desire or culture to help people grow, to make them feel valued….

… Instead there are just lies, indifference, aggression, all take - demands for total loyalty to the brand and blind acceptance the Post Office is always right.

The reality is the complete opposite. The only people within...

… the whole Post Office structure who are held accountable for every action, every stamp and every penny are Subpostmasters. And that accountability is managed by a totally corrupt computer...

…. system which is not fit for purpose, and a system that is policed by a corrupt hierarchy who spout the party line over and over - “Horizon is robust and works very well” - “You are the only person in the whole network who...

…. s having problems.” - Nigel Allen told me that.

Auditors arrive, turn your business into a crime scene, provide no written evidence, get the Contracts Manager on the phone after just one-and-a-half hours...

… and his first statement is: “Well - you need to resign.”

When I reacted to this he just hung up - he knew he didn’t have to argue with me - everything is stacked in his favour. He knows I am going to crash and burn….

… After all, Subpostmasters are totally expendable.

You are belittled by the whole process, you can’t prove your side of the argument, you can’t defend yourself, there is no support, no honest fair process, you are alone….

… It’s too much for many. You feel abandoned, tainted and that is what they want. A quick call, grab some money, move on to the next victim. Leaving heartache, anguish and devastation in their wake… If you’re lucky, and…

… I was, someone steps up, trusts you and guides you through the calm times. They carry the whole burden until you recover. Eventually you dig in, start afresh, reinvent and move on. But...

… the hurt and pain is always there, buried deep, suppressed, but always eating [you] away.

After a stroke you are known as a ‘stroke survivor’. I’m lucky enough to consider...

… myself a Post Office survivor as well - but they damaged me and tried to damage my self, my worth, my family, my business and my community.

What do I want from the the Post Office?

- Significant compensation paid to all victims including...

… the 555 [claimants in the Bates v Post Office litigation] now. Plus the costs that are owed to the 555. It will never bring back loved ones lost or replace all the lost years but it will allow every victim...

… to move forward with some sense of security and with less stress, anxiety and hurt.

- Post Office to start behanving with honesty and integrity. Providing full and open disclosure going forward. They will never extinguish the deeply embedded toxic culture...

… that still exists until there is root and branch change. This change will only come through closing this devastating chapter fully, by coming clean and admitting all the lies and exposing all the guilty at all levels of the organisation...

… I fear for this inquiry in the long run, because the actions of the Post office previously all show that they will do anything at any cost to protect themselves. The civil case [Bates v Post Office group litigation] was fought...

… in the most aggressive manner by Post Office and when they attempted to recuse Judge Fraser and tarnish his reputation, it showed everyone how low they are prepared to go….

… Be careful, Sir Wyn, and your colleagues here at the inquiry. Post Office will try every underhand, dishonest and evil tactic to destroy any threat and they have powerful friends who will back them all the way….

… They never want the truth to come out. I fear for all your reputations and well being.

Messrs Scully [Postal Affairs Minister], Kwarteng [Business Secretary] and Read [Post Office Chief Executive], through your delaying and blocking

… of proper compensation for ALL the victims of this scandal you are as guilty and complicit as [Paula] Vennells, [Angela] van den Bogerd, Elaine Ridge and Nigel Allen and all the others who bullied...

… and terrorised so many. Sort it out now - do the decent thing for once and put the victims first.”

And there it ended. We’re now listening to Gordon Martin’s testimony. He recently featured in a Sunday Times piece - the first time he’d ever told his story. Mr Martin is...

… clearly a strong man, and has given forthright testimony. He obviously fought the Post Office as much as he could. He broke down when describing how he has become estranged from his son, and he blames the Post Office for robbing him…

… of the chance to be a grandfather.

Mr Martin is asked what he wants from this.

“All Subpostmasters need their compensation in full without prolonged negotiations and individual interation so eliminating more grief and trauma for all concerned...

… Fujitsu - apart from the police investigation - the company should be held partly responsible for financial redress towards the bill for compensation. I don’t believe the taxpayer should really take the full hit and [Fujitsu] should have to do that for sitting on their...

… hands for so long knowing exactly what the situation was.

The Post Office… accountability - maybe like-for-like action. Maybe they should sacrifice their pensions. Maybe they should do community service. Ican’t believe any of them are going to end up in prison...

… I can’t believe any of them are going to end up in prison. Also there needs to be a clean slate and clear out at the top of the Post Office. Put it back on track to regain its rightful status…

Thousands of people have invested their life savings believing the Post...

… Office to be a true and trusted brand. WHere Horizon went wrong the Post Office hid the truth and banked the proceeds of their crime, and when the unexplained windfall appears in the [Post Office] suspense account, instead of finding out why they transfer the proceeds...

… to the bottom line and as a result of it, top executives are showered with bonuses and honours.”

Mr Martin has now finished and that’s it for the day. I am going to head up to Derby where I am doing a book reading (it’s free if you want to come - link at the end)...

… I think I might also read out Malcolm’s speech. It was very powerful to witness.

Thanks for following the live tweets. I’ll be back tomorrow to hear Seema Misra, Janet Skinner and Tracy Felstead give evidence...

… [trains from Derbyshire allowing].

Okay the link to come tonight is here -

bathpublishing.com/pages/the-grea…

Click on the top event (the Derby one) and you can send an email to John letting him know you’re coming. A top bod from the Post Office is apparently coming along...

… along with several former and serving Subpostmasters. Can’t wait.

Thanks for reading the tweets. If you don’t know much about this story, please buy my book. If you buy it through this link you will be invited to join the secret email list!

bathpublishing.com/products/the-g…