New: Bernie Spofforth, 55, has been arrested on suspicion of stirring racial hatred by spreading a fake Muslim name for the suspect in the Southport attack.

@thetimes are now naming her - tap to read 👇 and a 🧵 on why:

thetimes.com/uk/crime/artic… Foreign agitators, including the Russian state news channel, had leapt upon false claims the Southport suspect was a small boats immigrant.

There have been claims this played a role in provoking days of riots and unrest.

Two eye-catching bits of evidence from the Post Office inquiry today.

1) Criminal lawyer Jarnail Singh said investigation report in @JoHamil73963257's case should not be disclosed because “this would give the applicant every opportunity to ask why Hamilton was prosecuted”. Singh email quotes 2009 investigation report: “Having analysed the Horizon print out and accounting documentation, I was unable to find any evidence of theft, or cash in hand figures being deliberately inflated.”

Singh said “I can’t explain that now”, but denied "a cover-up”.

I'm tuned into another fascinating day at the Post Office inquiry.

The company's most senior lawyers Susan Crichton (2010-13) & Chris Aujard (2013-15) are up.

SC starts off reporting view of PO security bods: "This is public money, it must be protected, that’s our job." 🧵👇

You can read my write-up of yesterday's evidence in @thetimes here:

"Post Office inquiry: Vennells wanted ‘non-emotive’ word for IT bug" - tap to read 👇

thetimes.co.uk/article/post-o…

Now: Former general counsel Susan Crichton is giving evidence at the Post Office inquiry.

She says "sorry for the suffering" to postmasters and their families, and that she "wished things were resolved more quickly".

She left in mysterious circumstances in 2013. Live updates 👇 Susan Crichton, who reported to Paula Vennells, has been seen by some as one of the "good guys" doing what she could against resistance from other execs.

The inquiry live stream, which currently has around 7,000 viewers, can be found here:

Break: The chief executive of Fujitsu has apologised to postmasters and said the firm has a moral obligation to contribute to the £1billion compensation bill.

Follow live on @thetimes live blog on #PostOfficeScandal and in 🧵👇

thetimes.co.uk/article/post-o… Paul Patterson: "Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice. We were involved from the very start.
"There is a moral obligation for the company to contribute to redress."

thetimes.co.uk/article/post-o…

Scoop 🚨: Covert recordings reveal senior Post Office staff knew there were problems with the Horizon software - two years before Paula Vennells denied it to MPs.

First revelation from potentially "damning" tapes held by the public inquiry.

thetimes.co.uk/article/post-o… They reveal senior executive Alwen Lyons was preparing to brief Vennells in 2013 that remote access to Horizon accounts was possible without postmasters’ knowledge.

The assertion that this was impossible was core to PO's position there had been no miscarriages of justice.

Post Office scandal - who knew what and when about bugs in the Horizon accounting system?

What we know so far, and the key evidence that backs it up 🧵👇 1) Fujitsu experts knew there were problems at roll out in 1999/2000, according to a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Fraser concluded after a two year case that contractors knew there were issues.

This text is from his letter to the DPP, which I reported in November 2020 👇

The Government's gambling statement - this is what was announced by @lucyfrazermp in parliament.

👉 The full document is online now: gov.uk/government/pub… Affordability is key - our reporting overnight was correct:

🎰 "We propose £125 net loss within a month or £500 net loss within a year.
🎰 "Escalate to more detailed checks for the highest spenders. We propose £1,000 net loss within a day or £2,000 net loss within 90 days."

🚨 Sudan latest: NHS doctors are being turned away by British officials at the evacuation site in Khartoum.

👉 I've just spoken to Manchester surgeon Tarig Hassan - he's at airfield begging for passage. They have right to remain in UK. Common decency says they shld be airlifted. The British NHS doctor shot in the leg - featured in @thetimes yesterday - and his family are currently making the dangerous journey to the airfield.

They don’t know if they’ll be allowed on the plane after our Government denied a temp visa to their elderly granny.

New: Two years, five delays and four culture secretaries later and the Government's gambling reforms will finally be published.

@Steven_Swinford has leaked details including safety measures online and boosts for land-based casinos 🧵👇

thetimes.co.uk/article/gambli… Online regulations will be tightened - but less strongly than planned in the summer:

🎰 Max stakes watered down: £2 for those aged <25/£15 for older adults.
🎰 No detail on checks yet - but a consultation (ie long grass) mooted.
🎰 Dangerous features banned inc high-speed games.

New: Terrified NHS doctors stranded while diplomats saved.

* Our reporting on the plight of Brits in Khartoum at top of @thetimes w/ ⁦⁦@AliMitib⁩.

* Rescue flights can’t come soon enough - looting is rife and families are out of water/medicine.

thetimes.co.uk/article/d21638… NGO sources in region told me they were bewildered by move to pull out diplomats.

One said: “Shouldn’t embassies be the last ones to leave once everyone else is safe?”

France used small break in fighting to get three large flights off the ground, also rescuing British people.

New: Labour's attack ads have thrust Keir Starmer's record as boss of the CPS under the spotlight.

We spoke to ministers, officials, lawyers, friends and critics to analyse his time as DPP. My first big commission for @thetimes w/ @charliehparker 👇

thetimes.co.uk/article/what-d… Sir Keir leant on his record as DPP to win the Labour leadership, trash Boris at the despatch box and now to win over voters on crime.

But was he the prosecutor who successfully "stood up to the powerful” - or is he cherry-picking his greatest hits?

EXC: A victim who lost his post office, house and marriage in the IT scandal is set to *hand back* £322,000 in compensation.

📬 Francis Duff said: 'I've been shafted twice.'

My investigation reveals the gaping holes in the Post Office schemes. 🧵👇

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1… Francis had run a post office successfully for 20 years when problems started.

He’s a proud man from Merseyside – and rightly so, he won a certificate of valour for fighting off an armed robbery in 1996.

But when cash started to go missing, the Post Office turned on him.

🚨 Postmaster lawyers are furious over Post Office Scandal compensation schemes:

🚩 Almost every shortfall compensation has been undervalued. Lawyers pushed one claim up by £100,000 - shocking.

🚩 Postmasters driven to bankruptcy get 'next to nothing' after creditors are paid. 🚩 @grantshapps has offered £900 legal fees per postmaster - while Post Office use top City lawyers on £900 per *hour*.

🚩 The 3 compensation schemes in play is ‘a recipe for chaos and injustice’.

🚩 It is ‘fantasy land’ that scheme will complete by its target of August 2024.

New: Ministers say the 555 'trailblazers' who uncovered the Post Office Scandal will receive 'similar compensation to their peers'.

Details of the scheme are finally released three years after they defeated the Post Office in the high court. 👇

gov.uk/government/new… * Business Dept will deliver scheme directly.

* Independent claims facilitators will follow an 'alternative dispute resolution model'.

* Independent advisory board will include 'respected academics' and longstanding parliamentary campaigners @KevanJonesMP and Lord Arbuthnot.

EXC: An NHS worker stepped in front of a high speed train after the UK's biggest bookmaker allowed him to lose £12,500 in days.

Josh Hall, 28, lost half his salary with Paddypower before he died. His mum said she ‘will always be disgusted’ with the gambling company. [1/14] His inquest heard that, on May 17, 2020, the ‘kind and caring’ HR assistant ran into a mainline train travelling at 115mph, killing himself instantly.

It’s a dreadful story that blows a hole in bookies’ claim that ‘high tech’ monitoring systems keep vulnerable punters safe.

Breaking: The Post Office Horizon scandal is expected to cost the taxpayer £254 million. That's:

💰 Legal fees: £43m
💰 High Court settlement for 550 postmasters: £58m
💰 New compensation scheme: £153m

Last week @beisgovuk announced it will have to provide a bailout. The Post Office also reveal that the new compensation scheme has received a total of 2,478 applications from current and former Postmasters.

This means they have accounted £61,743 per claimant - considerably more than the high court group received.

Today on the Post Office IT Scandal:

A senior Post Office computer boffin misled criminal trials by withholding knowledge of bugs, according to court documents - info that could have helped postmasters avoid conviction.

Read the full story here 👉 dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9… 🚓 Dr Gareth Jenkins, the IT expert in question, and one other (Anne Chambers) are being investigated by police, which could result in charges of perjury.

But what did the Post Office do when it found out Jenkins did not fulfill his duties as an expert witness?

New: The @TheFCA today warns that young investors are being drawn into risky investments - on trendy new apps - by the ‘thrill’.

Just look: crypto ads on buses, zero commission 'social' apps and a new raft of speculative assets It is leading to some worrying, gambling-like behaviour from young people.

FCA survey;

🔢 78% agree “I trust my instincts to tell me when it’s time to buy and to sell”.
🔢 59% say a significant investment loss would have a fundamental impact on their lifestyle.

In today's Mail: The shocking revelation that Post Office staff were told to shred emails and meeting minutes that could have helped postmasters defend themselves against prosecution.

And the court were told that they did: 'If it's not minuted... it's not disclosable.' 👇 July 2013 was a vital moment: reports were produced and one found that a key expert IT witness misled several trials.

But Horizon wasn't dealt with and Post Office took postmasters to court in 2017 costing taxpayers £90m.

ALL this on former CEO Paula Vennells's watch (2012-19).

At the Royal Courts of Justice with some of the 41 postmasters as they finally get their day in court - and appeal to overturn their convictions for theft, false accounting and fraud.

‘It’s been nearly 20 years for me,’ one says. Incredible revelation in the Court of Appeal: The Post Office 'shredded' documents that could have helped postmasters' defence.

Tim Stein QC said: 'The Post Office’s reaction is one of dishonesty and destruction and shredding of documents. You can not see this any other way.'