Two-tier justice?

Thanks to some assiduous work by readers of this newsletter, I have got some interesting information to pass on. The first concerns Nick Vamos (pictured), the Peters and Peters barrister who was instructed by the Post Office during the Appeals process back in 2021.

Although he never spoke in court, Mr Vamos was a central figure behind the scenes between 2020 and 2024. Yet it turns out was not authorised to conduct litigation, a potential criminal offence. Letters have gone out to Subpostmasters whose appeals were heard during that period to inform them of the situation.

The Bar Standards Board seem to have accepted it was a genuine-oversight-no-harm-done-old-man-let’s-hear-no-more-about-it category of error, but there are others who aren’t so sure, and still more who are spitting feathers. Former Subpostmaster Tom Hedges called it the “blind and stupid leading the blind and stupid.” Read more here.

I am v grateful to the anonymous former Subpostmaster who first brought it to my attention.

Ten acquittals, you say?

Thanks to a laser-target FOI request by John O’Sullivan, a serving Subpostmaster, we now know there were ten Subpostmaster acquittals between 2000 and 2015.

I think I was previously only aware of three – Nicola Arch, Suzanne Palmer and Maureen McKelvey. This is extremely significant information. Why was it not reaching the Post Office board? How is it that Paula Vennells was able to tell MPs in 2012 that “Every case taken to prosecution has found in favour of the Post Office” and “there has not been a case investigated where the Horizon system has been found to be at fault”?

The Post Office was misleading important people from the off, because senior executives simply did not want to hear the truth, or understand the implications of the truth when they were told it, and it still makes me angry.

Operation Olympos is running out of cash

There were several Operation Olympos briefings last week – three for Subpostmasters and other victims of the scandal/interested parties and one for the media. Operation Olympos is the six year police investigation into possible criminal activity within the Post Office and Fujitsu over the course of the scandal. It is currently focusing on the crimes of perverting the course of justice and perjury. it is now led by the National Police Chiefs Council.

The most interesting thing to me was that the investigation needs a lot more cash if it is going to be able to even think about recommending charges against any Post Office senior or board-level executives in any decent time frame.

Commander Stephen Clayton, who is in charge of the operation, has got a meeting with the policing minister in the next week or so to try to secure funding. Without that, he said, prosecutions of every culpable exec would either not happen or take far too long.

I thought that was the strongest line to come out of the initial briefing (and wrote it up in that way for The Times), but lot of people got excited about the possibility that individuals or the Post Office itself might be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter. The situation has arisen in the light of Volume 1 of the Inquiry report, which counted thirteen possible suicides the Post Office might be responsible for.

On seeing this in July, the investigators at Op Olympos felt obliged to consider possible criminal responsibility. They have sent a “formal request” for advice on the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service. They acknowledge there is a “high bar” to get a corporate manslaughter charge over the line. And that’s as far as they’ve got.

The other line to come out of the briefing last week is that there are now eight “named suspects” in the police investigation from a pool of 53 “persons of interest”. From what the police are saying these are all people at a relatively junior level, and only five have been interviewed to date. Clayman told me Op Olympos is hoping to interview the other three in the first part of next year.

Chris Head OBE settles

Chris Head, once the country’s youngest Subpostmaster, has settled his claim against the Post Office. Chris and his lawyers estimate he has worked 10,000 – 14,000 hours over the past four years campaigning to make the byzantine compensation schemes fairer whilst helping hundreds of Subpostmasters put together their claims.

Chris has done this whilst liaising with ministers, civil servants, the Post Office and all their lawyers without permanently falling out with any of them. Given the way he has been treated, I am full of admiration at his tenacity and acuity, and I am very pleased he can put his own claim behind him.

Of course, being Chris, he is not going to put his feet up – he has, instead, vowed to continue helping everyone who gets in touch with him until the compensation schemes have been wound down.

Richard Brooks in Oxford in March 2026

I mentioned in the last newsletter I was hoping to do something with Private Eye’s Richard Brooks at the Oxford Literary Festival next year, and I am delighted to tell you it has all been confirmed. I will be interviewing Richard about his new book Post Mortem on Saturday 21 March. Tickets are available here. There is, though, a catch.

It starts at 10am. That’s very early for anyone who has to travel, but I thought I’d mark your card now so you can make plans. If you’re interested in seeing what Richard has to say about his work on the scandal over the last 15 years I would recommend coming along. He’s a very nice man, and an excellent journalist.

Thanks

Keep well and do keep sending me any information of interest. I am deeply grateful to those who do. Your messages and emails go straight to my inbox and everything is always kept in the strictest confidence unless I have your express permission to pursue a matter further.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Very best regards,

Nick

I am (still) writing a new book about the Post Office scandal called The Great Post Office Cover-Up. You can put your money down now for a copy which will arrive after Sir Wyn Williams’ final report. Buying a pre-publication copy of the hardback (£15 + P&P) or paperback (£10 + P&P) will be cheaper than the post publication price, help support an independent publisher (by buying direct) and offer you the opportunity to join my secret email mailing list. For more info about the book, click here!