Archives :
December 2020
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Barrister fires off coruscating letter to judges in Subpostmaster case – read it here
Marshall (and the) law Early this morning I published a coruscating letter written by the barrister Paul Marshall to the Court of Appeal as he stood down from representing three former Subpostmasters – Seema Misra, Janet Skinner and Tracy Felstead. In it, Mr Marshall notes he has been made subject of possible contempt charges (which…
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Victory for appellants! Limb 2 is in play….
Affronts to the public conscience I have just published my court report from today. Please read it here. It was a major victory for the appellants, driven by Seema Misra, Tracy Felstead and Janet Skinner. As a result of today, all the appellants can choose to have their appeal considered on both grounds of lack…
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One year on from the Horizon trial judgment
A momentous 12 months Whilst the Common Issues trial judgment on 15 March 2019 was, for me, the game changer (being the first time in 20 years anything had gone against the Post Office throughout the Horizon scandal), the judgment handed down by Mr Justice Fraser on 16 Dec 2019 was, if anything, more significant.…
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Barrister facing contempt charges quits Subpostmaster appeal case
Marshall steps down Anyone who thought the Court of Appeal process was going to be easy will have been brought up short by the events of the last four weeks. Three of the appellants have lost two of their barristers, with the second, Paul Marshall, going today. Mr Marshall leaves with the praise of his…
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Post Office waives NDAs for inquiry – but there’s a catch
Call for Vennells to give evidence Good evening secret emailers There’s been quite a bit of activity over the past three days so I thought I’d keep you up to speed: On Saturday I published excerpts of correspondence between the Communications Workers Union, Sir Wyn Williams and the Post Office, in which the Post Office…
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First convictions quashed: history made.
Bittersweet triumph for Subpostmasters Well, well, well. In a few short words, Her Honour Judge Taylor, Recorder of Westminster, quashed the convictions of six former Subpostmasters today, some of whom had been wrongly branded criminals for sixteen years. After the preliminaries had been observed, Judge Taylor simply said she would enter a not guilty verdict…
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Six convictions could be quashed today
All eyes on Southwark Crown Court A very quick note to say I am at Southwark Crown Court for a “mention” hearing of six Subpostmasters whose cases were referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. These cases are being heard at a crown court because all six Subpostmasters were convicted at Magistrates Courts. When news…
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Vennells steps down from third job in twelve months amid queries over legal documents
NHS waves the Rev goodbye Whilst all eyes were on the Court of Appeal last week, a little note containing big news was posted up on the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust website. It announced Paula Vennells’ departure from the Trust. She has decided to step down as Chair due to “personal reasons“. This is…
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How not to obtain a court document
Process, process, process I genuinely, honestly thought I had a shout. Someone I know with access to media lawyers told me their legal fold said I had no chance. They were right. I know open justice as a legal term doesn’t mean what most of us would understand as open justice, and I know that…
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Very important Court of Appeal hearing today
Will the Clarke advice be made public? Morning! There is so much going on at the moment and I haven’t kept you properly up to speed. I am sorry. The reason for my neglect is because I am going to be in court today applying for the release of the Clarke advice. This has required…