Post Office investigator ‘bullied’ sub-postmistress over accounting shortfall, inquiry hears

Post Office investigator ‘bullied’ sub-postmistress over accounting shortfall, inquiry hears

You have been told by your equals that there were newspaper articles you have been told by your equals that there was a growing body of cases but that in itself was not sufficient for you to question the reliability of the Horizon system because I’m I’m I’m not technically minded with that I would

Expect that to come from the people above if it was an issue I would expect Fujitsu to inform the post office and the post office to let us know what what the issues are at the bottom of the page here it says the Crown’s position on the

Integrity of the horizon system is set out in Steve Bradshaw’s statement dated 20th of November 2012 there’s no further disclosure in relation to this matter um you’ve just said that you’re not very technically minded do you think that the submission of a witness statement from you purporting to go to the Integrity of

The Horizon system do you think that was appropriate no because it depends on which statements is you used to put the statement through explaining the basics that the arise in that it was a a keyboard a scanner a printer and the B and the the basic wens of Verizon is

That you scan if if you have got a document with a barcode you would scan the barcode and the transaction would go through that’s all that’s normally explained in the statements I I give and it says would you like to tell me what happened to the money she says I don’t

Know where the money is I’ve told you and you say you’ve told me a pack of Lies she says no I haven’t told you a pack of Lies because I haven’t stolen A Penny um again concentrating on words used in an interview pack of Lies um sounds somewhat like language you might

See in a 1970s television detective show was pack of Lies something that you would say to depend it’s a it’s a payens viw and and it’s not it’s not a nice interview normally before ENT interview the majority of times I speak to people and say to them you know it’s not

Personal the questions have to be asked the you won’t like the questions that’s what it is it it is a criminal it’s a criminal interview in accordance with Pace you have no difficulty with using those words it went through it went through the court system afterwards and

Not nothing was picked up by her by a defense team to say that it was oppressive or aggressive she says as follows she says shortly after I had been audited and my post office was taken away from me I read an article in a magazine which highlighted other people who had

Suffered or about to suffer the same hell I was going through I then got in touch with the writer of the article who then put me in touch with the justice for sub postmasters Alliance this was a very big surprise to me as I was led to believe by the

Investigator for the Post Office Steve Bradshaw that I was the only one in this position position and this has never happened before Steve Bradshaw is a liar and he knew the whole time as I’m friends with another person he had prosecuted that was a member of the justice for sub postmasters Alliance it

Is just unbelievable how I was going to feel like I was the only one and it made me isolated and paranoid about what was going on with the whole situation had you mentioned the SEMA Mis case um Miss McDonald might have realized that she wasn’t the only one

I’ve I’ve never said that to her that’s incorrect that statement well we’ll look at that because we’ve seen that can come down thank you um we’ve seen Lisa Brennan this morning being told in her interview that nobody else is making mistakes haven’t we I’ve explained that that in

That in that particular Branch she was the only person in that branch that was having that particular issue

Sub-postmistress Jacqueline McDonald claimed she was “bullied” by Stephen Bradshaw during an interview over an alleged shortfall at her branch in Broughton, Lancashire after he accused her of telling him a “pack of lies”.

In the statement, she said: “Shortly after I had been audited and my post office was taken away from me, I read an article in a magazine which highlighted other people who have suffered or are about to suffer the same hell I was going through. I then got in touch with the writer of the article who then put me in touch with the JFSA (Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance).

“This was a very big surprise to me as I was led to believe by the investigator for the POL Stephen Bradshaw that I was the only one in this position and this has never happened before.”

Mr Bradshaw denied the allegations put to him, which included telling Mrs McDonald that she couldn’t seek legal assistance. He said any issues with the IT system weren’t reported ‘from the top’.

Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/11/post-office-scandal-latest-horizon/

#postmaster #inquiry #horizon

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