“Accountability” and “truth” are what victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are pinning for, as the Sir Wyn Williams inquiry heard some key hearings from the Post Office top brasses in the past weeks to establish how the Horizon system led to such disastrous consequences and who is to blame.
The Horizon IT scandal involved Post Office Limited pursuing thousands of innocent sub postmasters for shortfalls in their accounts, which had in fact been caused by faults in Horizon, the accounting software developed and maintained by Fujitsu. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from Horizon, and the notorious affair has become the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice.
The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015 while another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Most of those affected went bankrupt in the process, many were jailed, marriages broke down, many were ostracised by their local communities, at least four committed suicides while many passed away before being able to clear their names.
555 such convictions were quashed in 2021 while a bill quashing the convictions of hundreds of sub-postmasters has now become the law after being brought forward due to the general election. However, many questions still remain unanswered, and all eyes are now on the ongoing public statutory inquiry.
The latest phase of hearing saw the first-time public hearing of former Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who joined the system in 2007 and served as its chief executive from 2012 to 2019. The three-day hearing during which Vennells gave evidence saw a packed room filled with people, including many former sub-postmasters. The mood in the room became more defiant as the days progressed.
Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells arrives on her third day of testifying at the Post Office inquiry on May 24, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
According to Vennells’ 775-page witness statement, she was not being given the information and documents she needed to find out the truth about the Horizon IT system. Although there was a lot she could not remember, she had a slew of tearful apologies to offer.
One of such apologies was also extended to former sub postmaster Lee Castleton, saying the business’ treatment of Castleton was “unforgivable”.
In 2003, Castleton was the Sub postmaster at East Bridlington Post Office in Yorkshire. In January 2004, the Horizon system at East Bridlington went haywire. By March 2004 the unexplained losses had hit £25,000. He was suspended after an audit that same month and ordered to repay the money. He refused.
He was eventually taken to the High Court by the Post Office where he had to represent himself. When he lost his case, the Post Office pursued him for legal costs of £321,000 which bankrupted him. After the legal action, Castleton was forced to close his shop, sell his house and move into rented accommodation, while his wife suffered stress-induced seizures and his children had to move schools because of bullying.
During the earlier hearings, Stephen Dilley, who represented the Post Office in the civil claim against Castleton, told the inquiry that Post Office knew wanted to “show the world” how it would defend the Horizon system.
Castleton however remains unimpressed and unaffected by Vennell’s apology. All he seeks now is truth and transparency as he now wants to move on in his life.
“Do I believe that Paula Vennells really feels now that what happened to me was ‘unforgivable’? I don't know. That’s her own personal opinion on what she feels is the right or wrong thing to do.
“Paula Vennells has lived her life and did whatever she had to do. I just want to get on with my life and move on forward. The lack of truth, the lack of openness and the lack of candidness is slowing everything down”, he told Asian Trader.
The former sub postmaster also pointed out that the there is a “stark difference between what they remember and what is actually written”.
"I think the judiciary needs to make up their minds and decide whether there's anything that they need to take further. Accountability is something that we all are hoping for,” Castleton said.
Institutional defensiveness
It also emerged during the recent hearings that the Post Office was showing signs of culture of institutional defensiveness as the top bosses were more concerned about the press rather than the truth behind the Horizon’s anomalies and its impact on those wrongly affected.
The inquiry heard that in 2013, when issues with bugs were discovered, Vennells was internally questioning if there should be a review of past prosecutions going back many years. The PR boss advised against this, saying “we don't want to be front page news" to which Vennells agreed.
However, on the ground, lives were being ripped apart.
Retailer Vipin Patel had been running the Horspath Post Office since 2002. The shortfalls due to issues with the Horizon system started almost immediately. By 2010, Vipin had paid around £45,000 from his own pocket to cover the shortfall. However, in December that year, auditors found a further shortfall of £34,000.
With no money left to cover this amount, Vipin was interrogated by Post Office investigators and suspended. He was given an 18-week suspended prison sentence in 2011 with an electronic tag for two months.
His total Horizon generated losses amounting to £77,000. He had to cash in his Royal Mail pension, sell his wife’s family heirlooms passed down over three generations and had to borrow money from his sister to cover profound discrepancies.
Apart from huge financial losses, it was the humiliation, racial abuse and being branded as thieves that further broke the back of the family. Poster of “Wanted Dead or Alive” was stuck on the family’s store, while the family was targeted multiple times by the residents of the area.
Vipin’s conviction was eventually quashed by Southwark Crown Court in 2020, but the damage that was done still continues to haunt the family.
Vipin Patel, along with wife and son Varchasanraj Patel, on the day his conviction was quashed
Since the family’s finances took a hit, Vipin’s son, Varchasanraj V Patel, also known as Varchas, could not keep up with his higher education.
The family is not satisfied with Vennell’s statements.
Varchas told Asian Trader, “The new details emerging from Post Office Inquiry goes to prove how much the High Court in the Bates -v- Post Office was left in the dark.
“We were hopeful Paula Vennells would be more forthcoming compared to many witnesses prior to her giving evidence whose memories weren’t very good, but during Paula Vennells evidence sessions over three days, especially in the morning of the first day, it became clear to me she was not going to play ball and her recollection of events seems to be as bad as her colleagues.
“She was not being honest; her tears were just for show and the apologies were feeble and hollow,” Varchas told Asian Trader.
What’s next?
Phase 5 and 6 of the inquiry (expected to last until end of July) is still on. Some of the key names yet to be heard in this phase are Alice Perkins (former Chair of Post Office Ltd), Richard Christou (former Chief Executive and Executive Chairman of Fujitsu Services Holdings plc) and Gareth Jenkins (former Distinguished Engineer at Fujitsu Services Ltd).
Both Castleton and Varchas believe that Horizon was not the problem, but it was people behind it.
Castleton told Asian Trader, “This is not about some broken computer system. The software didn’t hurt people. We were made victims by another set of people who blindly believed in the system. It was those people who convicted us and made us broke.”
Varchas said, “It is more than evident that the Horizon system alone was not the problem, it was a human effort to pervert the course of justice and destroy so many sub postmaster lives. For example, one of my father’s investigators knew of a very damaging bug yet failed to investigate my father’s branch and hid the information.”
Varchas also believes that the ongoing inquiry must also concentrate on whether race played any part in the Post Office’s decision to prosecute their employees or anywhere in the criminal justice process.
He said, “A Fujitsu engineer who worked on the Horizon helpdesk told the inquiry in oral evidence that every time a south Asian sub-postmaster called the helpdesk, the helpdesk staff would shout across an open planned office and say, ‘we have another scamming Patel’.
“It was not only the mindset of NBSC and Horizon helpdesk, but the Post Office board and management equally thought the sub-postmasters had their hands in the till and tempted to steal –basically they had all stereotyped us.”
Varchas and his family want the complete truth to come out at the earliest.
“I really want the inquiry to drill down to every part of Post Office failures, but the Post Office is still fighting in the sense of its continued disclosure failures with the inquiry.”
Castleton too wants the truth to emerge and the real offenders to be held accountable for.
He said, "I want more truth. I've never seen as much paperwork as the inquiry now has. There are millions and millions of documents. We never had that amount of information before, and it just shows what was going on behind the scenes.
"The next stage to that will be quite interesting. I think Paula Vennells pointed the fingers at certain people, including the government. It'd be interesting to hear what they say about that, because somebody somewhere thought it was okay to spend hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer's money trying to defend the indefensible. I'd like to see who did that.”
Former sub post master Vipin Patel
“I hope that going forward, people can find it in their hearts to give us justice, to give us openness and show some kindness. That's what I would like.”
There are different compensation schemes in place to pay wronged sub-postmasters, including the Group Litigation Order relating to the 555 sub-postmasters in the group brought together by Sir Alan Bates. Calls are now being raised to pay the claimants quickly and give uplift to the interim payment.
Despite the decades being passed and years since Vipin’s conviction was quashed, he has not been offered any compensation. The old couple still runs a convenience store in Oxfordshire at the same site while Varchas helps after work and on weekends. The Post Office branch is now closed. Varchas said the abuse his father endured from the community during those years led to the rapid deterioration of his health.
Varchas told Asian Trader, “My father has not been offered a settlement by the Post Office because his claim has yet to be calculated which could take another couple of years (give or take).
“What is needed for my father and many sub-postmasters is a substantive uplift in interim payments that could potentially see my father retire. Currently he still helps my mother run our shop in Oxfordshire where the harm was inflicted by Post Office and some very horrible locals.”
However, with the elections in July and a new government in the making, the compensation process is expected to be slowed down further, leaving hundreds of victims, including people like Vipin and 91-year-old Betty Brown, clueless and waiting.
Leading pure-play coffee and tea company JDE Peet’s said its chief financial officer (CFO) Scott Gray has decided to step down to be reunited with his family in the US.
JDE Peet’s added that it has appointed a new CFO, but will announce further details regarding the incoming CFO on 26 February 26, when the company publishes its FY 2024 results, in agreement with the incoming CFO’s current employer.
The new CFO is set to assume the position in the second quarter of this year.
Gray played a pivotal role in JDE Peet’s’ successful transition from a private to a public company in 2020, leading critical initiatives in risk management, financial reporting, and capital structure optimisation. He also guided the organisation through unprecedented coffee inflation and macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges in recent years.
In addition to leading the company’s finance and IT functions, Gray assumed the role of interim chief executive prior to the appointment of Rafa Oliveira as chief executive in November 2024.
“On behalf of the board and the executive committee, I thank Scott for his leadership and commitment to JDE Peet’s,” Rafa Oliveira said.
“His focus on excellence has shaped a lasting legacy, leaving behind a company with a robust financial foundation, strong performance and a talented team. As interim CEO, Scott provided critical leadership continuity. We are grateful for his leadership, partnership and collaboration and his commitment to a solid handover. We wish Scott all the very best for the future.”
Gray said: “Resigning was a very difficult decision for me. I am deeply committed to JDE Peet’s and have truly enjoyed leading such a talented team. My wife and I have decided to relocate to the US where our children will soon be starting their higher education. JDE Peet’s is a unique company operating with fantastic people in a great sector. The company is set up for future success and I thank my team and colleagues for the unforgettable journey.”
Ricard Barri Valentines appointed as chief marketing officer
Ricard Barri ValentinesLinkedIn
JDE Peet’s also announces the appointment of Ricard Barri Valentines as chief marketing officer (CMO) and member of the executive committee, reporting to Rafa Oliveira.
Valentines, currently global category director, Instant & Liquid Coffee, has an impressive record of transforming brands, driving sustainable growth, and fostering high-performing teams. He succeeds Fiona Hughes, who has accepted to take on the role of general manager, Australia.
“I welcome Ricard to the executive committee and thank Fiona for her outstanding leadership in introducing a marketing philosophy to the company and bringing life to our portfolio of brands,” Oliveira added.
MPs have voted to approve plans to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland in October 2027.
The materials that will be included in the scheme will be single use plastic (PET) and metal drinks containers. Glass will not be part of the scheme.
While the regulations apply only to England and Northern Ireland, it is expected that Scotland will introduce a scheme that will be interoperable across the different UK nations.
Despite concerns raised by retailers, suppliers and other stakeholders, the Welsh Government still intends to introduce its own scheme that will include glass and focus on reuse.
In correspondence with the Welsh, Scottish and UK Governments, ACS has outlined what it believes to be the guiding principles of a successful, well-designed and effective DRS. These are:
The scheme should be consistent across the UK
The scheme must be at worst cost neutral for retailers
Glass should not be included in the scheme
Return points should be strategically mapped and not mandated on the basis of business type/size
The scheme should prioritise colleague and customer safety
ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “We welcome the progress of the scheme in Parliament, but there is still much to do to ensure that the UK is ready by October 2027.
"Return points need to be strategically mapped, retailers need to prepare their stores, and a whole new level of recycling infrastructure needs to be set up.”
During the debate Members of Parliament highlighted the need to work closely with convenience retailers to deliver an effective DRS across the country. You can see clips from the debate here.
Speaking in Parliament, Environment Minister Mary Creagh emphasised the urgency of addressing waste.
"Keep Britain Tidy estimates that two waste streams, plastic bottles and drinks cans, make up 55 per cent of all litter across the UK. When it comes to addressing waste, this Government will not waste time," Creagh stated.
Creagh outlined how the scheme would impact communities and the environment, saying it will "end the epidemic of litter on our streets and restore pride in our communities. It will improve the countryside, preserve our wildlife and protect our beaches and marine environment."
The scheme is aiming to collect 70 per cent of containers by 2028, increasing to 90 per cent by 2030. By the third year, this must include at least 85 per cent of containers made from PET plastic and 85 per cent from other in-scope materials, such as aluminium and steel.
This comes a few days after supermarket chiefs urged the government to postpone the launch of the DRS as it claimed the proposed October 2027 roll out was “not feasible”.
In a letter to environment secretary Steve Reed, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) detailed challenges that the scheme would inflict on retailers, such as significant costs.
It is understood that the BRC also warned the DRS risks being ineffective following the news that Wales is to move forward with its own deposit return scheme in a bid to encourage recycling, as it remains committed to including glass bottles.
The UK government has appointed a former top executive at online titan Amazon to be the interim chair of the country's competition regulator, hoping the appointment will help drive economic growth.
While competition watchdogs around the world are heavily focused on probing technology giants, Britain's Labour government believes too much regulation is hampering growth.
The appointment late Tuesday of Doug Gurr, former country manager of Amazon UK and president of Amazon China, to steer the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) comes after his predecessor, Marcus Bokkerink, was reportedly ousted for insufficient focus on growth.
"In a bid to boost growth and support the economy, Doug Gurr has... been appointed as interim chair" of the CMA, a statement said.
Secretary of state for business and trade, Jonathan Reynolds, added that the government wanted "to see regulators including the CMA supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth".
The statement noted that at a recent meeting with Reynolds and chancellor Rachel Reeves, UK regulators "were asked to tear down the barriers hindering business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth".
Gurr is currently director of the Natural History Museum in London.
Lighter touch
Bokkerink's removal came a day after Donald Trump returned to the White House, vowing to cut regulation on sectors including tech as it races to develop Artificial Intelligence.
Some criticised the move as a shift to a lighter touch in Britain, where regulators have traditionally been unafraid to take on big companies to protect the interests of smaller firms and consumers.
"Now is the time to file your mergers with the CMA," said Tom Smith, competition lawyer at Geradin Partners and a former legal director at the regulator.
"The government is sending a clear signal that it wants the CMA to go easy on dealmakers."
Labour government, under pressure to reignite the economy after years of sluggish output, has said it wants regulators to "tear down the barriers hindering businesses" and focus on growth. But some have questioned whether an easing of competition rules would promote growth.
After he was ousted, Bokkerink said on LinkedIn that markets should not be held back "by a few powerful incumbents setting the rules for everyone else".
The CMA's last clash with a US tech giant was over Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard in 2023, and the regulator came off worse.
It blocked the deal but then tore up its own rule book to approve the case following a furious reaction from Microsoft bosses who lobbied the government at the highest level.
It did not block a single deal in 2024, and allowed two of Britain's four mobile networks to merge.
Supercharging growth
After being singled out by prime minister Keir Starmer for holding back growth, the CMA said in November that it would focus on "truly problematic mergers" and rethink its approach to allow more deals to go ahead.
An executive at a major British tech and media company said Bokkerink had been leading the growth charge.
The person, who asked not to be named, said there was real surprise over the choice of his replacement, raising the question of how much big tech had lobbied the government.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said Bokkerink had "tirelessly championed consumers, competition and a level playing field for business".
Competition lawyer Ian Giles at Norton Rose Fulbright said the CMA's mantra, echoed by government previously, had been that competition was good for growth and for business – and rules need to be enforced to support this objective.
The move "suggests that there may be a desire to rein in the CMA's more interventionist approach," he said, even at the cost of reduced rule enforcement.
The change comes as the CMA steps up its scrutiny of Big Tech through its Digital Markets Unit.
The unit, which gained new powers this month, is tasked with ensuring that tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple and Microsoft, do not abuse their dominant market positions.
Amazon, under Gurr's leadership, was investigated by the CMA over its stake in food delivery company Deliveroo. The regulator cleared the investment in 2020.
The CMA will imminently give its verdict on the cloud computing market, dominated by Amazon, Microsoft and to a lesser extent Google.
National Lottery retailers are correctly asking for ID as proof of age at the highest rate since National Lottery mystery shopping visits started more than two decades ago, Allwyn stated today (22).
As part of its new Operation Guardian programme, Allwyn organised over 8,200 mystery shopper visits in 2024 to check retailers were challenging players who appeared under the age of 18. The final results show that a record-breaking 92.3 per cent of National Lottery retailers correctly asked for ID as proof of age on their first visit.
The visits are carried out by people who are over 18 – so as not to inadvertently cause a retailer to break the law – but who look younger.
Retailers who sell to a mystery shopper on the first visit will be given additional training and subsequently re-visited. Retailers who sell on three separate occasions to mystery shoppers may have their lottery terminal removed.
Allwyn introduced Operation Guardian in 2024, with the new programme building on and expanding previous mystery shopper and retail training initiatives to increase the levels of support for retailers – ultimately enabling them to sell National Lottery products even more safely.
In total, over 16,000 store visits were carried in 2024 out as part of Operation Guardian. In addition to the 8,200+ proof-of-age visits, Allwyn carried out 4,000 ‘excessive play’ visits to ensure stores could provide support information to players requesting help with their play if needed.
Towards the end of the year, this also incorporated a smaller-scale mystery shop exercise for the new 10-Scratchcard per purchase limit, which Allwyn officially launched in October 2024.
The final part of Operation Guardian, a ‘knowledge check’, encompassed 4,000 visits which assessed store staff’s knowledge around preventing underage play and minimising excessive play.
Retailers were tested using six core questions, and the 2024 results show that 85 per cent of retailers answered five or more of the questions correctly.
Any retailer not passing one of the three parts making up Operation Guardian received additional training from Allwyn. This is further to the training they regularly receive either face-to-face via Allwyn’s increased retail sales team or through its new Retailer Training Centre.
In 2024, Allwyn made over 130,000 face-to-face and phone contacts to support National Lottery retailers in selling The National Lottery responsibly.
Allwyn’s Director of Commercial Partnerships and Retail Sales, Alison Acquaye-Acford, said, “A huge congratulations to our 40,000-plus National Lottery retailers for their commitment to selling The National Lottery responsibly and raising their standards to the highest levels ever seen.
“Participant protection is central to Allwyn’s plans for growing The National Lottery responsibly over the next decade and this is clear to see from the successful introductions of new training and initiatives in 2024, including Operation Guardian and the 10-Scratchcard limit.
"We’re delighted that our work in this area is already bearing fruit with these record-breaking figures. This is all down to the diligence of our retail partners, and I’d like to thank each and every one of them for their excellent work and dedication in this area.”
In its recent effort in the battle for the middle-class grocery shopper, supermarket Waitrose is once again is bringing back free hot
coffee to entice shoppers into its stores.
After outrage over the withdrawal of the offer during the pandemic, the company told the 9 million members on its My Waitrose loyalty scheme that they would again be entitled to a complimentary americano, cappuccino, latte or tea once a day regardless of whether they bought anything – as long as they have their own reusable cup.
"“Some of our My Waitrose members like to have the free coffee before they shop or during the shop, rather than afterwards, so we are just offering a bit of flexibility in response to customer feedback," stated the supermarket.
When Waitrose introduced the perk in 2013, there were queues at coffee stations and complaints from customers that the offer was attracting the “wrong type of shopper”.
In 2017, the supermarket tweaked the policy by making it compulsory for shoppers to buy something before pouring themselves a free hot drink. A year later, the supermarket stopped providing disposable cups, requiring customers to bring in their own reusable ones.
The scheme was scrapped during the Covid crisis, but reintroduced in November 2022 – again for customers making a purchases.
Waitrose also offered hot drinks to the police "as part of an initiative to cut down on shoplifting".
When it was introduced in August 2023, West Mercia Police Federation secretary Pete Nightingale said, "It makes sense from a business perspective because any police presence is bound to have an impact - either as a reassurance for shoppers or a deterrent for shoplifters."
The move is seen as a power grab by the retailer – which has more than 400 stores across the UK – after it lost ground to M&S. Waitrose has been overtaken by M&S for the first time outside Christmas trading, according to the latest market share data from Kantar.
In the last four weeks to 3 November, M&S increased its market share to 4.03% of the grocery market, compared with 3.76 per cent a year earlier.
Waitrose’s share fell from 4.02 per cent to 3.91 per cent. It also enjoyed the biggest jump in sales among all the big supermarket groups during the period.