Archives :
Nick Wallis
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The Compensation Catch
Last week Alan Bates stunned a small, but significant number of members of the Justice for Subpostmasters’ Alliance with a circular sent out on 12 September. The members concerned are a sub-group of the 555 claimants in Bates v Post Office who have what the government are terming ‘complex’ situations. There are about 100 of…
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Barrister’s Letter to the DPP
Sabah Meddings (in the Sunday Times) and Rebecca Thomson (in both the Sunday Times and on our podcast, Investigating the Post Office Scandal) have already reported that the barrister Paul Marshall (pictured) has written to Max Hill QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, asking him to consider bringing one or more charges of Perverting the…
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Secret 2016 Post Office Chairman’s Report Not Shared With PO Board
Where to start with this…? Perhaps by thanking Eleanor Shaikh, whose forensic and determined FOI campaign has been unearthing some real gems. Yesterday, as a result of one of her requests, the Post Office published a hitherto secret report commissioned by the Post Office minister in September 2015 following the August 2015 Panorama investigation ‘Trouble…
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Podcast Episode 6 – The Richards
Subpostmaster Richard Hawkes and Professor Richard Moorhead speak to Rebecca Thomson Rebecca and I have put up another podcast. Hopefully you can see it on the left (if you can’t, you can find it here). If this is the first you’ve heard of our podcast – Investigating the Post Office Scandal, you are more than…
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Book Talk Dates
All the following dates have been confirmed and those with links have tickets on sale now. I am hoping to have a special guest at every event. Keep checking this page to see who has been confirmed! 14 September – Sheringham Little Theatre, Sheringham 16 September – The Quay Theatre, Sudbury 19 September – Norwich…
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Three Day Book Tour!
The Great Post Office Scandal had next to no advertising, marketing or launch budget. Bath Publishing are a tiny (but delightful and committed) publisher. TGPOS is their first mainstream book. They don’t have the sort of relationships that could see them wander into the Waterstones’ chief buyer’s office and tell them about their next hit…
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73 Convictions Quashed
This week the 73rd Subpostmaster conviction was quashed. Margaret White (née Sowinska), ran the Banbury Road Post Office in Oxford. In 2007, she pleaded guilty to two counts of false accounting after Post Office “auditors” found a £28,000 discrepancy at her branch. That conviction was quashed at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday. The Oxford…
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Treasury Announces Compensation for 555 Civil Litigants
After all the hints, it’s finally happened. On Tuesday 22 March 2022, a full two years and three months after the settlement of Bates v Post Office, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that all 555 claimants in that case will be properly compensated for their losses. Two years and two months ago, Alan Bates…
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Tim Brentnall’s Closing Statement
Tim Brentnall ran the Roch Post Office in Pembrokeshire. He was convicted of false accounting in 2010. His conviction was quashed at the Court of Appeal on 19 July 2021. Tim gave evidence to the Post Office Horizon Inquiry on 1 March 2022. Tim’s closing statement is a powerful piece of rhetoric aimed at reminding…
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Chirag Sidhpura’s Closing Statement
I watched Chirag Sidhpura give evidence today. You can read about his story here, and in the live-tweets I put together whilst he was talking. At the end Chirag read out a prepared statement, which he has kindly shared with me (whilst also showing me how to work my new phone). Chirag is an extraordinarily…