Ed Davey must be held to account for ‘wicked’ ministerial decisions about Post Office, says victim
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Sir Ed Davey must be held to account for “wicked” Post Office decisions, a victim of the scandal has said.
The Lib Dem leader has tried to distance himself from the Horizon scandal, claiming he was “deeply misled” while serving as the postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012.
But those falsely accused of wrongdoing are demanding that he is subject to a full interrogation over what he knew and when.
Ex-postmistress Sally Stringer has said that the root of the scandal “goes back to ministerial decisions” some of which were “wicked”.
In what has been described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history, more than 700 postmasters were prosecuted after faulty accounting software, called Horizon, made it appear money was missing from their stores.
Events surrounding the scandal are back in the spotlight following an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was screened last week.
It has since emerged that Sir Ed and other ministers were repeatedly warned about the accounting problems and issues with the software.
Campaigner Alan Bates ended up cutting contact with Sir Ed after he said in response to numerous complaints in 2010 that he had checked with the Post Office and it “continues to express full confidence in the integrity and robustness of the Horizon system”.
In a letter seen by the Sunday Times, Mr Bates responded in 2011 saying: “Having nailed your colours to the POL’s [Post Office Ltd] mast from the [Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance] standpoint there was little point in continuing a dialogue with you or your department at that point.”
‘Bitterly regrets’
A spokesman for Sir Ed has said that he “bitterly regrets” that the Post Office was not honest with him and “in hindsight” he wishes that he could have done more.
However, Mrs Stringer, who ran a post office in Beckford, Gloucs, for 20 years and faced audits, accusations and demands for repayment of money that was supposedly missing, believes that the responsibility for the scandal lies at the door of the Government.
“ I think the problems with Post Office Limited goes back to ministerial decisions taken during the coalition government of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives formed in 2010,” she said.
“The ministerial decisions range from incompetent to wicked.”
‘Interrogate’ Sir Ed
She has asked the ongoing public inquiry to “interrogate” Sir Ed as well as former business secretary Sir Vince Cable and Jo Swinson, who also held the position of postal affairs minister whilst prosecutions took place.
Giving evidence to the ongoing public inquiry, Mrs Stringer said the CEOs of the Post Office are “pawns” in the scandal as “they did as they were told by [the Department of Business]... They are all dysfunctional to the core, the whole lot, and they need to be accountable.”
She added: “ There has to be a concerted effort to get the responsible individuals. It needs to be done as a block, otherwise those responsible will walk away nicely. I would like Vince Cable and Edward Davey to be cross examined about what they knew and did.”
‘Completely understands victims’ anger’
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said that Sir Ed did meet with postmasters and raise concerns whilst minister in charge of the Post Office.
They added: “Ed completely understands the victims’ anger at this appalling miscarriage of justice, and in hindsight he wishes he could have done more to help them. His focus is now on getting justice and compensation as quickly as possible to all those affected.
“Ed deeply regrets not realising that the Post Office was lying to him and other ministers on an industrial scale in what amounts to a conspiracy against the public. He will fully cooperate with the inquiry and is keen to give his evidence as soon as possible to help get to the bottom of this scandal.”
Liberal Democrat MP and former leader Tim Farron said: “Ed has said how much he regrets that the Post Office was lying to him, just like it was to everyone else. He’s experienced more than his fair share of tragedy in his life, I know he feels the pain of those affected by this scandal very deeply.”
