‘Do you have any idea of the suffering you have caused?’: Ex-Post Office boss accused of ‘lying throughout’ at inquiry
A former top Post Office executive has denied lying “throughout” her two days of testimony at the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.
Angela van den Bogerd, who held various roles over 35 years at the organisation, told the hearing that while she did miss evidence of problems with the computer software at the time, it had not been “intentional”.
Her roles at the Post Office included handling complaints about the Horizon system, which was provided by Japanese firm Fujitsu.
More than 700 Post Office managers were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after the software made it seem like money was missing from branches. At the time, the company insisted Horizon was robust.
Edward Henry KC, representing some of those wrongly convicted, accused Ms van den Bogerd of telling a “blatant lie” in a September 2015 letter sent to former sub-postmaster Parmod Kalia.
Mr Kalia spent three months in prison after being falsely accused of stealing £22,000 from his London branch in 2001.
In the letter, the former executive said there was “no evidence of transactions recorded by branches being altered through remote access” – despite her receiving emails years earlier which highlighted the issue.
Edward Henry KC
Mr Henry said: “It’s a blatant lie, isn’t it?”
She replied: “That’s my understanding of what I’d been given at the time.”
As he questioned her further about what she knew and when, Mr Henry said: “You’re lying again today, as you have done throughout, I suggest.
“Do you have any idea of the suffering you have caused, the many lives that have been blighted, with you contributing to that pain and that cruelty? Do you have any idea?”
As it happened: Post Office inquiry latest
Ms van den Bogerd replied: “I appreciate the level of suffering that would inevitably happen as a result of prosecutions” but said she was never involved in prosecutions.
She added she had worked to understand whether there were any issues with the Horizon system.
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It came after Ms van den Bogerd, who was played by Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, said on Thursday that she was “truly, truly sorry” for the “devastation” caused to wrongly convicted sub-postmasters.
The former executive also said she never “knowingly” did anything wrong.
During Friday’s hearing, Ms van den Bogerd was also quizzed about the case of Martin Griffiths.
The former sub-postmaster had run his branch in Cheshire for 14 years before shortfalls appeared in 2009. He was accused of being responsible for shortfalls of up to £100,000 and was then blamed by Post Office officials for a robbery at his branch in March 2013.
Ms van den Bogerd said Mr Griffiths had been asked to pay a fine of 20% of the money taken during the raid – more than £7,000 – because it was believed he had not been “complying with certain procedures at the time”.
He died after stepping in front of traffic in September 2013. A coroner ruled he had taken his own life.
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From Thursday: Ex-Post Office boss denies ‘cover-up’
Counsel for the inquiry Jason Beer KC pressed Ms van den Bogerd on whether a subsequent offer of compensation to Mr Griffiths’ family was dependent on them dropping any legal action against the Post Office.
He also asked about a separate claim the family held against Second Sight – which produced a report detailing issues with the Horizon system.
Ms van den Bogerd said it was part of “the broader piece of the network transformation. It covered everything”.
Jason Beer KC
Mr Beer then appeared to lose patience with the witness.
He replied: “What does that mean? That’s just word soup… I asked you, Ms van den Bogerd – the payment was going to be conditional upon the family withdrawing the claim that they’d made under the mediation, wasn’t it?”
She answered: “Yes, because that’s the way the network transformation payment was set out.”
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In another exchange, Sam Stein KC, representing other scandal victims, described the former executive as being “Post Office through-and-through like a bad stick of rock”.
He referred to a 2019 court case in which a High Court judge said she had sought to “mislead” him during her evidence defending the Post Office.
Mr Stein described the comments as “pretty serious” and asked if the Post Office investigated her as a result. She said no.
He then asked: “Did you get your bonus that year, in 2019, Ms van den Bogerd?”
“Yes, I did,” she replied.
Mr Stein then asked: “So despite the finding in the High Court that basically you lied… you got your bonus?”
She responded: “Yes.”
The inquiry will continue next week with evidence from the Post Office’s former head of legal Hugh Flemington.
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Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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