A Tory peer and long-time advocate for victims of the Post Office scandal said he raised the issue with the Labor government 15 years ago but received a response that made it clear “the government wanted nothing to do with them”.
Lord Arbuthnot said he was “frustrated and irritated” by the response to a 2009 letter to then business secretary Lord Mandelson calling for an investigation into complaints by the deputy postmaster general about a failure of Horizon’s IT systems. investigation.
He said the previous Labor government had “evaded responsibility for the scandal” after receiving a letter from deputy minister Pat McFadden suggesting the concerns were a matter for the Post Office.
Lord Arbuthnot told the inquiry on Wednesday: “It is clear that the government said this had nothing to do with them.”
In a letter produced to the inquiry in 2009, Lord Arbuthnot wrote: “There does appear to be a large number of fraud-charged postmasters and postmistresses claiming responsibility for the Horizon system, at least two of whom were of the constituency.
“Given the extent of the impact this has had on the personal lives of these postmasters and postmistresses and their families, often involving bankruptcy and significant financial hardship, I would be grateful if you would allow me to comment on how this matter is being investigated. .”
Lord Arbuthnot told the inquiry: “I wanted to resolve an issue that seemed to me to be potentially unfair, and because the government owns the Post Office I thought the government was well placed to address it. But they said, ‘No, not me. ,gentlemen’.
“I was frustrated and annoyed. It was clear that the government was saying it had nothing to do with them and I didn’t know that I could accept it at that stage.”
Lord Arbuthnot likened the situation to the owner of a dangerous dog refusing to take responsibility for his pet.
“This ‘arm’s length’ arrangement essentially means the government refuses to take on the responsibilities associated with ownership, and for a variety of reasons I don’t think that’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“You can’t say that a dangerous dog keeps a certain distance from you if the dangerous dog behaves badly. In my opinion, the whole distance control process is a dangerous process.”
The Tory peer also criticized the Post Office’s actions, claiming it told deputy postmasters they were the only ones affected by flaws in Horizon IT’s systems as a way to intimidate them.
The Tory peer said: “One thing that always bothers me deep down is how many people are told ‘you’re the only one this has happened to’.”
“That strikes me as dead wrong because it’s obviously unfalsifiable in the first place and they’re not the only ones this happens to. Secondly, it isolates those deputy postmasters and deputy postmasters from having access to the same Position others for support.
“Thirdly, it has an element of intimidation. All of this reflects poorly on the way the post office and its deputy postmasters operate.”
Lord Arbuthnot’s evidence comes after explosive accusations from former deputy postmaster General and head of the Deputy Postmasters Justice League Alan Bates, who said the Post Office was a “brutal organization” run by “men in suits and ties” run by thugs” willing to do “anything.” Everything” to hide Horizon IT failures.
The investigation continues.
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