Morning!
First of all, thanks to the multiple correspondents who got in touch after my last newsletter to point out that I had rendered the new £0.8bn element of Rachel Reeves’ compensation announcement for Subpostmasters as a measly £800,000 (especially the person who told me I meant £8,000,000,000).
I should, of course, have written £800,000,000, but I didn’t. This prompted the largest response I have had to any newsletter I have written to date, leaving me tempted to drop a clanger into every secret email going forwards, with a prize draw for those who spot it and respond. Maybe not.
I went up to the Inquiry yesterday to watch the first half of Simon Recaldin’s evidence. You can read the highlights in my blog post here. It was nice to see Janet Skinner, Tracy Felstead, Terry Seeney, Parmod Kalia and various other Subpostmasters, the barrister Paul Marshall and fellow Horizon Scandal Fund trustee Eleanor Shaikh all present. The only other journalist I spotted was the BBC’s Emma Simpson, though when I pointed this out on twitter, the Telegraph’s Fiona Parker DM’d me to tell me she was watching along from her desk!
Recaldin did not finish his evidence today, and I hope the Subpostmaster representatives are able to give him a good grilling this morning, as Julian Blake seemed content to allow him to be pretty imprecise throughout his evidence yesterday.
Recaldin is the last Post Office witness scheduled to give evidence at this inquiry. When he is done this morning, we’ve got the joys of Sarah Munby, the former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who now does the same job at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which was created in 2023.
Bates in the Chair
Whilst the Inquiry is sitting at Aldwych House, just under a mile up river in the Thatcher Room at Portcullis House, Sir Alan Bates and three Subpostmaster lawyers, Neil Hudgell, David Enright and James Hartley will be among those giving evidence to Liam Byrne MP’s select committee.
The title of the session is “Post Office Horizon scandal: fast and fair redress”. I think that ship has sadly rather sailed, though Sir Alan’s evidence will naturally make headlines, especially if he is still being made risible offers by the government. The first session starts at 2.30pm
It’s Radio Time
In order to attempt to cover both the parliamentary session and what’s going on at the Inquiry, I am going to stay at home and record/watch/transcribe both on separate computers and try to write something up before heading into town myself to see if The Great Post Office Trial or Mr Bates vs The Post Office can win a Radio Times Screen Test award.
This was the Radio Times awards which I think I may have asked you to vote for, if you felt inclined. If either wins and I am allowed on stage I’ll see if I can get a chance to thank the secret email massive. We’re up against some heavyweight, high impact programmes so I’m not expecting much.
Tring My Bell (tomorrow)
I don’t know why I’ve failed to tell you about this until now but I’m speaking at the Tring Book Festival tomorrow evening at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church on the High Street. You can get tickets here. Do come along if you can.
Whilst I’m flogging tickets, there are now around 40 left for the matinée at the Otley Courthouse on Friday 22 November (the evening event is sold out).
If you know anyone in the Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate or Ilkley area, they’re all very close to Otley. Please do send them in this direction. It would be lovely to see them.
Till Thursday?
Today and tomorrow are lining up to be very busy so I doubt there’s much chance of getting a newsletter out. Don’t forget you can get any blog post I manage to put up sent directly to your inbox by putting your email address into the sign up box on my website, which is on the home page and looks like this:
This is a free, automated service and your email is kept secure by me and Post Office Scandal’s web guru Andrew (who is currently beavering away on building me a website for the gender stuff I’m looking into).
If you sign up to this, then you will get each blog post I write for Post Office Scandal sent to your inbox within a couple of hours of it going live and you don’t have to worry about me alerting you via newsletter.
Right then, that’s me. Thanks very much for all your correspondence, whether it’s related to newsletter bloopers or observations on the Post Office story.
I am grateful this week for the correspondent who noted that Sir Gary Hickinbottom, who is giving evidence in the last select committee hearing today is the Chair at the Post Office Overturned Convictions Independent Pecuniary Assessment Panel. This acronymises (if that’s a word) to POOCIPAP, which definitely isn’t a word, but does sound like something of a comment.
Bye, now
Nick