End of Times (Radio stint, for a bit)

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!

I hope you had a good one, whatever you got up to. I am mainly writing this newsletter as an exercise in procrastination. Whilst doing this I am not writing my book. This is probably not what you wanted to hear, especially if you have already put your money down for a copy in advance. I just thought, before I go completely silent, I’d send you what may be my last newsletter for a while.

Radio time

December was a funny old month – my plans were thrown into welcome disarray by the invitation to present a whole bunch of shows on Times Radio. I was already committed to conducting a bunch of interviews for the next episode of The Great Post Office Trial for the BBC, but thanks to NewsUK I also got to try to remind myself how to do live radio too.

As of yesterday I completed that Times Radio stint and can now chain myself to a desk as we go into the scripting/editing phase for the TGPOT and of course the book. I find that when I’m writing I need to go quite deep into a little world of my own, and anything which requires me to use a different part of my brain slows everything down. It was great to spend some time working at the Baby Shard and meet the Times Radio team, but now I’m looking forward to a relatively unbroken period of hiding out in my study.

All is busy on New Year’s Day

It was a joy to hear that Seema Misra, Lee Castleton, Jo Hamilton, Chris Head and m’podcast colleague Rebecca Thomson had been awarded OBEs in the New Year’s Honours list. I was scheduled to be on air on Times Radio on New Year’s Day. A few days beforehand I asked the bosses to let me spend the first hour of my show marking the one year anniversary of the first broadcast of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office. They were right behind it. During the programme I was thrilled to be joined by two executive producers of the drama – Natasha Bondy and Patrick Spence – who gave our listeners a great behind-the-scenes tour of its making.

In the second half hour Lee Castleton joined us to talk about his award and the series’ impact on his life. I am grateful also to the Times journalist Tom Witherow and former Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake for giving up part of their New Year’s Day to come on the programme as well. The segment seemed to fly by and I could quite easily have spent two hours talking about the making of the drama and its political and social impact, but I am glad we got to mark the series on its anniversary and once more pay tribute to the resilience and brilliance of the Subpostmasters who inspired it.

You can listen to the programme in full on the Times Radio website. The Mr Bates segment is during the first hour. I don’t know how long it stays up for, so if you are interested, get in quick!

On the subject of Mr Bates, there’s also a great interview with series director James Strong on the Royal Television Society website.

Fines for slow redress

Nearly a year after Sir Alan Bates suggested it to them during an evidence session, the Business Select Committee has published a report (dated 1 Jan 2025) recommending fining those responsible for delaying compensation payments to Subpostmasters.

We know the slow speed of sorting out redress is having a real impact on the lives of Subpostmasters who just want to put this scandal behind them. The whole process has been a disaster from start to finish. I really hope 2025 will be the year when it is finally properly dealt with, but given the pace at which complicated claims are being processed, I am not optimistic.

Horizon Scandal Fund pays out £120k

It is very sad that the Horizon Scandal Fund should have to exist, let alone meet such acute and chronic need, but I am nonetheless extremely grateful to everyone who has made a donation since the charity was set up. We have, since inception, paid out a total of £120,000 in grants to a large number of Subpostmasters and their families affected by the Horizon scandal.

David Chaplin, our Chair of the Trustees, has written a short report about our activities over the last year on the Horizon Scandal Fund website. We operate confidentially, which means that we are not always able to talk about the specifics of the grants we have made and to whom, but I can promise you we work very carefully with everyone who contacts us to ensure we can identify and assess a specific need and hopefully provide the right amount of support in the right way.

From the feedback we have been getting from recipients I am in no doubt that the sums of money we have been able to grant has made a material difference to peoples’ lives. There are still an awful lot of people who require counselling and therapy as well as financial assistance, and we stand ready to continue making grants available into this year and beyond.

Thank you once again to anyone and everyone who has contributed to the charity – I know there are many secret emailers among our supporters – and my thanks also to my fellow trustees and Hilary (our dedicated assessor) for giving up their time to administrate the fund and consider the applications we get.

If you are a former Subpostmaster or know someone affected by the scandal who is in need, please get in touch. I know some people don’t like asking for help, but if it’s something as personal as counselling or therapy, or you just need a break, or help with a money worry, please get in touch. We can offer advice and assistance even if you don’t want direct financial help.

Goodbye-ee

I really am going to duck out of contact for a bit, though if something seismic happens I will of course let you know. I will almost certainly pop up when we have a time and date for the transmission of Episode 18 of The Great Post Office Trial. Until then, please do have a click around the Post Office Scandal website – it is now a huge resource entirely funded by your donations. If you have not read it yet, I do recommend reading the most recent post on former Post Office director Jane Davies’ evidence to the Inquiry. What she alleges about the executive dysfunction under Nick Read’s leadership is staggering, frankly.

Right – purdah beckons…

Very best

Nick