To draw your attention to Mr Bates vs The Post Office

[5foot5]

There is already a thread about this on the Telly Addicts forum here

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4970440-mr-bates-vs-the-post-office-mon-to-thur-itv-9pm-tv-pace-no-spoilers

However this seems like such an important subject that I thought I would draw attention to it on AIBU.

The first episode aired tonight but the whole series is available on itvx.

Most of you will no doubt have heard about the Horizon scandal, but whether you have or you haven't this program is compelling. It will probably make you furious but it deserves as wide an audience as possible.,

It looks like Lyons was the creature of Vennells and Perkins and operated as someone who enabled them to be distanced from some of the important action while still having someone to tip them off about what was going on. How depressing.

I'm perking up faintly, thanks nauticant.

Thank you for continuing to give heads ups re the timings. I'll try to watch Vennells from the start.

I now feel like I've set you some homework!

I'm genuinely grateful. I put stuff on my calendar, keep in it in mind for weeks, and then... oh, it was yesterday.

A summary of today's evidence is that although Alwen Lyons held herself out to be Company Secretary and her activities related to that role, it seems she spent a fair amount of time scurrying around behind the scenes up to all kinds of stuff that was nothing to do with her being Company Secretary.

Generally when asked about these "non-core" activities it was "can't remember", "I actually wasn't involved at all despite what the emails say", or suchlike.

This was to support the mean girls duo of Vennells and Perkins. And Lyons, for whatever reasons, is now stuck with giving evidence that maintains that support.

One of the big things to come out of today was how the General Counsel Susan Crichton was excluded from a critical board meeting to deliver critical information, and one explanation would seem to be that a group of people wanted to land all the blame on Susan Crichton that the problems with Horizon were coming to light and to keep some members of the board somewhat in the dark about what was happening.

I think that's a rather, um, optimistic view of top tier firms. In general, they are just as much in thrall to the big clients as anyone else; the lawyer who loses the Post Office account would always have a lot of very awkward questions to answer, and won't necessarily be able to rely on their superiors to back them up no matter how ethically correct their advice may be.

General Counsel Susan Crichton was excluded from a critical board meeting to deliver critical information, and one explanation would seem to be that a group of people wanted to land all the blame on Susan Crichton that the problems with Horizon were coming to light

So Crichton was their scapegoat of choice when it started to look like they might need one.

I've been struck by how Trump-esque it is in some ways. Unshakeable belief in their own sainthood, combined with always trying to survive one more day.

They see reckonings heaving over the distant horizon, but are convinced they can always outrun them.

Did you watch the Inquiry stream where this very thing was being suggested by counsel the Inquiry?

Yes. I thought the same then. Barristers, with every respect to them, have little knowledge of how solicitors' firms work. You can and certainly will find excellent, principled lawyers in second, third and fourth tier firms; you can as easily find less competent lawyers in first-tier firms.

I've heard it from solicitors too. People have been watching for years and noticed how the Post Office money was so disproportional within Bond Dickinson that it had a huge distorting effect on the firm and as a result the culture inside turned toxic.

Paula Vennells starts to give evidence:

It's an important day but I keep reminding myself that she's only part of it and in some ways is a symptom rather than a cause. Neary all of the prosecutions took place before she became CEO. But she was there when people in the Post Office realised they were sitting on a massive scandal and a lid needed to be kept on it.

I just stuck it on there for a couple of minutes and almost felt sorry for her. But then I remembered all the terrible stories of the victims.

Rah, she's crying.

Judging by the caliber of people on the witness stand, it's no wonder they fucked up people's lives.

Self centred, protectionalists who couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. Who the hell appointed these idiots?

Those poor postmasters. I'm glad they were able to keep fighting.

Absolutely. The poor falsely accused lady who had to have multiple rounds of EST to essentially save her life and now has no recollection of her childhood is something I will never ever forget.

My knowledge of the whole thing is mostly from the dramatisation but if that's anything to go by, there should be a serious amount of post office heads rolling. They've probably all scarpered at this stage though no doubt

I liked John Crace's tweet in reaction to Williams pausing the inquiry for being dripped on

The drips PO inquiry chair Wyn Williams has been feeling may be Paula Vennells's tears

It's gone all quiet here, I assume it's not just me?

Still here, with my . Spluttering it, occasionally.

<sorry, yer Honour, the drips might have been me...>

I am half following but can't watch it at the moment so it's via live updates

Back on now here.

Short statement of sorryness 😡

🤣🤣🤣🤣

What happened?

Paula is sorry and my feed keeps cutting out!

@DanielGault

No I don't mean that.
There was a noise like a lift noise, and a tannoy said "attention attention" and then they stoped the broadcast for a few minutes.

They've only just resumed