Mr Bates vs The Post Office consultant hopes ‘net may be closing’ on those responsible for Horizon IT scandal
A consultant on ITV’s hit drama about the Post Office scandal says “the net may be closing” on those responsible for the wrongful prosecution of subpostmasters after the Metropolitan Police confirmed an investigation is under way.
The police confirmed on Friday that they are investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences after the wrongful prosecutions and its handling of the Horizon IT scandal.
Former subpostmasters and subpostmistresses were held liable by the Post Office for financial discrepancies thrown up by the computerised accounting system.
The Post Office decision led to more than 700 prosecutions, criminal convictions and, in some cases, prison sentences.
Asked by Sky News if he thought the investigation would lead to criminal prosecutions, Nick Wallis, a consultant on ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, pointed to the lack of charges handed down to those responsible for other national scandals over infected blood, Hillsborough and Windrush.
“So based on our society’s track record of being able to prosecute individuals or corporations, I’m not holding out much hope,” he said.
But he added: “You do get the sense that with this development, with the Met Police coming out saying they’re looking at not just perjury but conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and fraud, the net may well be closing.”
This week’s airing of ITV’s mini-series about Alan Bates, the lead claimant, has thrust the scandal back into the public eye and 50 more potential victims are believed to have come forward since it came out.
Actor Toby Jones stars as Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Mr Wallis, who is also the author of The Great Post Office Scandal, said the reaction to the drama has been “phenomenal”.
“I was speaking to the executive producer last night and apologising for being caught off guard at the response to the drama,” he said.
“She said: ‘We all were.’
“We had no idea that the drama would touch so many people… It hit a nerve with the general public.
“It’s shone a light on this story – something I’ve been working on for more than a decade.
“As a result, more and more victims of this scandal – who perhaps weren’t reached by the journalism that’s been done on it in the past, who perhaps hid themselves away from their communities – now, at last, the word is starting to filter through to them that they will be believed if they come forward and they may well have a case for significant compensation.”
Nick Wallis on Sky News
The government announced a new fixed sum payment last year for victims of the scandal, but critics have claimed the payments are not high enough and are taking too long to be distributed.
Mr Wallis said the compensation should have been dealt with by an independent body and that its handling has become “yet another facet” of the scandal.
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Alan Bates (centre) speaking outside the High Court in London in 2019
‘You can’t put a value’ on scandal’s damage
Christopher Head, a campaigner for victims, became a postmaster at the age of 18 in 2006 and was under criminal investigation himself for six months in 2015 due to the IT scandal.
The Post Office believed he had stolen tens of thousands of pounds due to the IT accounting errors.
He was forced to go through civil proceedings before the case against him was eventually dropped.
Mr Head told Sky News the compensation offered by the Post Office to victims is “not even close” to adequate.
“The amounts of money people have lost… their business, their home, they couldn’t get a job because they had a criminal conviction,” he said.
“Then you put it alongside the stigma and the reputational damage and the distress and those kinds of things.
“You can’t really put a value on it, but the sums I’ve seen being awarded in those schemes do not come in line with what I would call actual legal principle.”
Mr Head said he considers himself lucky compared to those who ended up being criminally prosecuted and jailed.
“You still suffered at the hands of it, but you could never ever put yourselves in the shoes of the people who have been to prison, the people who have taken their own lives and the destruction that’s had on their families,” he said.
“People talk about compensation… and that is an important part of it so people can rebuild their lives, but also they need to see accountability so that they can put this to bed once and for all and move forward.”
Mr Head said he believes there were people at the Post Office who “knew what was going on” and “could have put a stop to it”.
Talking about the Met Police’s investigation, he said: “I think it’s been a long time coming, really.
“We’ve seen a lot of evidence ourselves over the years. I think a few MPs have pointed it out.
“For it to be made official… people are hopeful that somebody somewhere will be held accountable for what’s gone on.”
UK
UK calls for investigation after IDF fired warning shots as British diplomats travelled through West Bank
The UK government is calling for Israel to launch an investigation after the country’s troops fired warning shots while British diplomats were travelling through the West Bank.
Diplomats from Ireland, France, Germany and Turkey were also travelling with the delegation in the city of Jenin when the gunshots rang out on Wednesday.
All four countries have condemned the shooting, which comes after Western nations criticised Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza.
Two British diplomats are understood to be among the group of around 20 people who have been confirmed as safe following the incident in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Footage shows the moment members of the delegation were gathered outside before fleeing the scene as the gunshots rang out.
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has described the incident in Jenin as “unacceptable”.
He wrote on X: “I have spoken to our diplomats who were affected. Civilians must always be protected, and diplomats allowed to do their jobs. There must be a full investigation and those responsible should be held accountable.”
Follow latest: Gaza conflict live updates
Members of the delegation flee as gunshots are fired
In response to the situation, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has announced measures, including financial restrictions and travel bans, targeting prominent settler leader Daniella Weiss and two other individuals.
The measures also target two illegal outposts and two organisations accused of backing violence against Palestinian communities.
It came after Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris condemned the shooting in “the strongest terms” and France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he would summon the Israeli ambassador over the incident.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry said the shooting showed Israel’s “systematic disregard for international law” and called for an immediate investigation.
Germany’s foreign office had earlier condemned what it referred to as “unprovoked gunfire”, adding: “We are fortunate that nothing worse occurred.”
The Israeli military said the delegation had “deviated from the approved route” of their visit and Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers fired warning shots to push them from the area.
The IDF apologised and said it would contact all countries involved in the visit.
The shooting took place a day after the UK announced it would cease all talks of a trade deal with Israel, and summoned the country’s ambassador to make clear Britain is unhappy with the situation in Gaza.
Members of the delegation flee as gunshots are fired
Hospitals in northern Gaza encircled by IDF
Elsewhere, staff and aid groups have said that two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals have been encircled by Israeli troops – preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
The Indonesian and al Awda hospitals are among the region’s only remaining medical facilities, with both coming under fire this week.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organisation, has warned Israel’s military operations and evacuation orders “are stretching the health system beyond the breaking point”.
Just 20 of the territory’s 36 hospitals remain partially functioning – with centres in northern Gaza now said to be “at a serious risk of shutting down completely”.
According to the WHO, there have been almost 700 attacks on medical facilities since the war began.
Israel’s military has accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide fighters, but has only provided evidence for some of these claims.
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Former spy chief: PM’s stance on Israel ‘overdue’
UK unveils new aid package to Gaza
Elsewhere, UK ministers announced they will send £4m of aid to Gaza, including essential medicines, safe drinking water and food parcels.
Minister for development Jenny Chapman, who is visiting Israel and the occupied territories, said the lack of aid reaching Gazans is “appalling”.
She added: “The Israeli government’s failure to allow full humanitarian access to aid workers is abhorrent. Far too few trucks are crossing into Gaza.
“The UN has warned nearly half a million Palestinians, including children, are facing starvation.
“The UK is clear – Israel will not achieve security through prolonging the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
It comes as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said humanitarian aid needs to get into Gaza “at pace”.
On Wednesday, Downing Street did not rule out more sanctions on Israeli ministers after a report said Number 10 and other countries were drawing up plans to target key figures in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Sir Keir’s official spokesman said he would not speculate on future sanctions but added it has been made clear that if Israel does not cease its military offensive and lift aid restrictions then the UK will take further “concrete actions”.
The shooting in the West Bank came hours before the Israeli military said 100 aid trucks carrying flour, baby food and medical equipment had travelled from the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
Palestinian workers unload an aid truck, in Khan Younis. Pic: Reuters
The transfer of aid into Gaza has become an increasingly controversial topic over the last couple of days as the international community fears the territory is on the brink of famine.
The UN said earlier that no aid has been distributed in Gaza since Mr Netanyahu said an 11-week blockade on the territory had been lifted.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli prime minister held a news conference where he said he would not allow European leaders to “influence” Israel after he was asked about the diplomatic row over the gunfire in Jenin and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“We have to complete the war,” Mr Netahayu said. “We are going to continue what is needed to end the war.”
He said it was a “mark of shame” that Britain was sanctioning Israel and not Hamas, calling the sanctions an “absolutely horrible thing”.
Friends of Jay Slater have failed to appear as witnesses at an inquest into his death – as a coroner heard the British teenager had drugs in his system before he died from a “devastating” head injury.
Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared in Tenerife after attending a music festival in June last year.
In the early hours of the following day, he is believed to have travelled to an apartment where people he had met were staying – before he went missing.
His body was recovered in a remote part of La Masca village on 15 July following an extensive search of the island by authorities and his family.
The valley where Mr Slater’s body was found in Tenerife
His mother Debbie Duncan, stepfather and other family members attended the inquest into Mr Slater’s death at Preston Coroner’s Court on Wednesday.
Ms Duncan broke down in tears as she told the hearing she still had questions that needed answers.
The hearing, scheduled to last one day, was told extensive efforts had been made to reach several witnesses who were in contact with Mr Slater before he disappeared, which included summonses being issued.
However, a number of witnesses had failed to respond, including Mr Slater’s friends Bradley Geoghegan, Brandon Hodgson and Lucy Law, who were out with him at the music festival.
Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife in June last year before his body was found the following month. Pic: LBT Global/Slater family
The two men who were staying at an Airbnb that Mr Slater went back to before he disappeared have also not been traced.
Ms Duncan said: “How can we ever get any understanding?
“There’s things we want to question. We want these people to be sat in front of us, because our son went on holiday and didn’t come back, so there’s questions we need to ask.”
Coroner Dr James Adeley agreed to adjourn the hearing, at the request of Mr Slater’s tearful mother, who asked for the witnesses to be brought to court to give evidence before the inquest concludes. A further hearing date has yet to be set.
Earlier, the court heard analysis of Mr Slater’s body showed traces of drugs including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd detailed Mr Slater’s injuries.
Mr Slater died from a ‘devastating’ head injury, a coroner heard. Pic: PH Build Group
He described “extensive fractures of the left side of his head… extending into the bottom of his skull”.
Mr Slater also sustained “fractures to the left side of the pelvis and hip joints”.
Dr Shepherd said the injuries were “entirely consistent with a heavy fall, from a height, landing on his head”.
Asked by the coroner if there was any suggestion of assault or restraint, he replied: “Nothing to suggest an assault, gripping, holding, nothing of that sort.”
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Dr Adeley asked the pathologist about the impact of Mr Slater’s injuries.
Dr Shepherd replied: “It would have had an immediate and devastating effect on Jay’s consciousness.
“The injuries were so severe I have no doubt he would have been instantly unconscious from the moment of that blow to the head. Death could well have been instant, the injury was so severe.”
Failing that, it would have most likely occurred “extremely soon after” the fall, he added.
Dr Shepherd gave an official cause of death as a head injury.
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