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Civil servants have hit back at “cowardly” former ministers who have criticised them for their alleged failure to act on the Post Office Horizon scandal.

A blame-game is under way following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which depicted how hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly held responsible for accounting errors created by the faulty Horizon IT software.

Sir Ed Davey and Lord Peter Mandelson, who are both facing questions for their roles as postal affairs minister and business secretary during the scandal, have laid some of the blame at the door of civil servants – with the latter arguing that officials should have been “more focused and cognisant of what was going on” and that they “failed” to protect ministers.

And in an interview with Sky News, Sir Ed, the Liberal Democrat leader, accused officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of “lying to me” over the scandal.

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Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, told Sky News that Lord Mandelson’s comments were “just another cowardly example of politicians scrambling to blame others for their own mistakes”.

“Politicians are quick to take credit when things go well. They should be humble and honest enough to take responsibility for their mistakes, and swiftly deliver justice for the wronged sub-postmasters and sub-mistresses.”

More on Post Office Scandal

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union for civil servants, branded Sir Ed’s comments “outrageous” and said they were an “act of desperation from a former minister trying to save his own skin”.

“Ed Davey goes beyond what is reasonable to expect from a former minister,” he told Sky News. “If he’s going to repeat this he needs to back up his accusations.”

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‘The Post Office was lying to me’

He added: “Civil servants should rightly be held to account for what they did and didn’t do, but they need an opportunity to defend themselves.”

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 people were prosecuted for a variety of offences including theft, fraud and false accounting – causing many to lose their jobs, livelihoods and reputations.

On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced that a new law would be introduced to exonerate and compensate those caught up in the Horizon scandal and that those who were part of the group litigation order against the Post Office would also be eligible for an upfront payment of £75,000.

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Sub-postmasters were ‘guinea pigs’

Sir Ed – who was postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012 during the coalition government – has attracted particular criticism after it emerged he refused to meet sub-postmaster Alan Bates, whom the ITV drama is named after, on a number of occasions – saying in a short three-paragraph letter that a meeting “wouldn’t serve any purpose”.

However, Sir Ed did later meet with Mr Bates and was the first minister on public record to do so. It is understood he then asked his officials to follow up on the concerns raised by the sub-postmaster at their meeting.

Speaking to Sky News this week, Sir Ed said: “I wish I’d known then what we all know now. The Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers.

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Wrongly convicted postmaster describes ordeal

“When I met Alan Bates and listened to his concerns, I put those concerns to officials in my department, to the Post Office and to the National Federation of Postmasters and it’s clear they all were lying to me.”

Sir Ed was joined in his criticism of the civil service by Lord Mandelson, who was in charge of the oversight the Post Office from 2008 until his departure in 2010.

In his Times Radio podcast aired earlier this week, Lord Mandelson said: “I’m not trying to point the finger at particular civil servants obviously,” he added, “but they should have been much more focused and cognisant of what was going on.

“And their job is to, in a sense, both to protect ministers and serve the wider public interest, and in this instance that failed.”

Read more:
Post Office scandal: Investigators ‘offered bonuses’ to prosecute sub-postmasters
Sub-postmasters used as ‘guinea pigs’ to grind out issues in Horizon, says expert

Separately, it has emerged that Lord Mandelson was made personally aware of the Horizon issue, after an email released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) showed they were highlighted to him in 2009 by Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot.

However, rather than respond himself, the FOI instead showed a response from his junior business minister, and now close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, Pat McFadden, who said there was “nothing to indicate that there are any problems with the Horizon system”.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “Ed has been clear that Post Office managers lied to the victims, to judges and to ministers, those lies circulated across the entire system.

“It is also the case that like all former ministers and post office managers, civil servants – particularly those sitting on the post office board, must face the inquiry and answer questions.

“The priority now needs to be getting justice and compensation for the victims.”

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

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Chancellor’s Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape – saying post-financial crash rules went ‘too far’

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Chancellor's Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape - saying post-financial crash rules went 'too far'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has criticised post-financial crash regulation, saying it has “gone too far” – setting a course for cutting red tape in her first speech to Britain’s most important gathering of financiers and business leaders.

Increased rules on lenders that followed the 2008 crisis have had “unintended consequences”, Ms Reeves will say in her Mansion House address to industry and the City of London’s lord mayor.

“The UK has been regulating for risk, but not regulating for growth,” she will say.

It cannot be taken for granted that the UK will remain a global financial centre, she is expected to add.

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It’s anticipated Ms Reeves will on Thursday announce “growth-focused remits” for financial regulators and next year publish the first strategy for financial services growth and competitiveness.

Rachel Reeves
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Rachel Reeves


Bank governor to point out ‘consequences’ of Brexit

Also at the Mansion House dinner the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey will say the UK economy is bigger than we think because we’re not measuring it properly.

A new measure to be used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – which will include the value of data – will probably be “worth a per cent or two on GDP”. GDP is a key way of tracking economic growth and counts the value of everything produced.

Brexit has reduced the level of goods coming into the UK, Mr Bailey will also say, and the government must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations.

Mr Bailey will caveat he takes no position on “Brexit per se” but does have to point out its consequences.

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Bailey: Inflation expected to rise

In what appears to be a reference to the debate around UK immigration policy, Mr Bailey will also say the UK’s ageing population means there are fewer workers, which should be included in the discussion.

The greying labour force “makes the productivity and investment issue all the more important”.

“I will also say this: when we think about broad policy on labour supply, the economic arguments must feature in the debate,” he’s due to add.

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The exact numbers of people at work are unknown in part due to fewer people answering the phone when the ONS call.

Mr Bailey described this as “a substantial problem”.

He will say: “I do struggle to explain when my fellow [central bank] governors ask me why the British are particularly bad at this. The Bank, alongside other users, including the Treasury, continue to engage with the ONS on efforts to tackle these problems and improve the quality of UK labour market data.”

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18 US states file lawsuit against SEC and Gary Gensler

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18 US states file lawsuit against SEC and Gary Gensler

President-elect Trump has vowed to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and replace him with a more crypto-friendly SEC head. 

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Pennsylvania lawmaker introduces bill for ‘strategic Bitcoin reserve’

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Pennsylvania lawmaker introduces bill for ‘strategic Bitcoin reserve’

The proposed legislation would allow the State of Pennsylvania’s Treasurer to invest up to 10% of its funds in Bitcoin, suggesting a multibillion-dollar investment.

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