It’s almost exactly one a week

The Post Office successfully prosecuted 736 people between 2000 and 2013 over shortfalls using Horizon-related evidence, just over one a week for 14 years.

A settled figure was requested by Lord Justice Holroyde last week at the Court of Appeal after there was some confusion in court. The numbers were subsequently revealed in a written note by the Post Office.

This staggering figure will only be a fraction of the total number of attempted prosecutions, sackings, suspensions and demands for cash – many of which went on well after 2013 as the likes of Pete Murray, Chirag Sidhpura and Louise Dar can attest.

As we know, there are 2,400 applicants to the Historical Shortfall Scheme from which all 555 High Court claimants are excluded (as well as anyone with a criminal conviction). If you add in the number of people who have applied to the CCRC over the past six years (more than 60), that’s more than 3,000 people who have raised a grievance over the Post Office’s Horizon IT system.

You can read more about all of this on a new article I have just posted up on www.postofficetrial.com here.

23 April 2020

I have been heartened by the number of people who say they might be coming to the Royal Courts of Justice on 23 April. I appreciate coronavirus restrictions may make that difficult for some (I was advised after sending out my last secret email that it’s currently illegal to leave Wales!) – but there are compelling reasons to be there for those who may finally have their convictions (or those of their loved ones) overturned. Take advice, and take necessary precautions, but don’t regret leaving that day unmarked. I suspect there is unlikely to be another day like it in this extraordinary story.

Book news

Thanks to all those who have recently donated and in doing so bought advance copies of the book. I have seen some possible cover designs, which is quite exciting. The manuscript is slowly emerging. I might have to try to break the back of it by finding a remote location without too many distractions. I have already cut down my access to social media, emails and phone calls but developments in this story and the potential commitments it is engendering are pushing me off schedule. Of course I want to report what is going on, and each new revelation will inform the eventual the shape of the book, but time spent dealing with each new disclosure is time not spent slaving over a hot manuscript. There are worse problems to have, I appreciate.

Right – it’s five to midnight and I’ve set the alarm for another 4am start to try to get some work done before the kids surface.

Hope you have an enjoyable Easter. If it’s anything like mine and you are socialising in the back gardens of friends of family for the first time in a while, wrap up warm – it’s apparently going to be more than a bit chilly!

Yours

Nick