Hello secret emailers

October is here and people have started to wonder if there might be any word from the Court of Appeal or the High Court with regard to the ongoing Bates and others v Post Office litigation.

I don’t, I’m afraid, have any privileged information (either in the journalistic or legal sense), so what I am about to tell you may well be wrong. However…

I have heard there is a possibility the Horizon trial judgment will arrive before the end of this month.

I have also heard the Court of Appeal ruling will be handed down on 12 November. Remember the Post Office have asked the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the first (Common Issues) trial judgment.

The latter sounds realistic. I’m not so sure about the former given it took Fraser J more than four months to produce the Common Issues trial judgment and the Horizon trial only finished in July.

Both may be entirely correct or hopelessly wrong. I am simply passing on what I have heard as people are beginning to ask me.

Other stuff

I’m hoping to post up a story about – guess what? – a Subpostmaster having problems with Horizon. It ended up costing him his post and £57,000. The delay is down to the poor chap at the centre of it all who is having to work two jobs at the moment to keep his family fed. He understandably doesn’t have much time to go through and hand over the last few bits of information I need.

Hopefully I’ll get it all soon so I can publish.

Also I have a piece in the works by a guest blogger which I am trying to chase along. I’m waiting to get these pieces posted up before I start my next piece which will either be something on the Post Office investigators telling Subpostmasters they are the only ones having problems with Horizon, or something on the CCRC (possibly with the help of a legal friend).

So basically this is an email to give you some dates which might not be correct and an indication I might or might not do some work over the next few weeks. Thrilling, huh?

If you have something you want to get off your chest about the litigation or the Post Office, please do fee free to pitch it to me or write it up and send it in. In the meantime, I will be metaphorically loitering outside the High Court, with my hands behind my back, whistling to myself, as we await more, or any news…

Yours

Nick