Cameron coalition government ‘knew Post Office chiefs covered up computer scandal’

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Newly launched paperwork present that Post Office chiefs secretly ditched forensic accountants who discovered issues within the Horizon IT system – with the complete data of David Cameron’s coalition government.

A Post Office committee referred to as “Project Sparrow”, determined to sack Second Sight, a agency of investigators which uncovered proof the computer system was defective, and convey the investigation in-house.

The secret plan to eliminate the agency was uncovered in minutes from two conferences of the group that occurred in April 2014, the BBC reported.

The data present that former Post Office chief govt Paula Vennells, senior lawyer Chris Aujard, and Richard Callard, a senior civil servant on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, have been all a part of the Post Office committee.

Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates instructed the broadcaster: “It’s been a cover-up from start to finish. That’s coming out now. It’s undeniable.

“And this is what we’ve been up against all the way. We’ve always known they were covering up – it’s just been very difficult to find proof.”

Second Sight first recognized varied IT bugs within the Horizon computer system in a report on 8 July 2013, which forged doubt on the info used to prosecute sub-postmasters.

The Post Office was warned by its personal authorized counsel this could possibly be in breach of its authorized duties as sub-postmasters who have been convicted ought to have been made conscious of the faults.

However months later when “Project Sparrow” met in April 2014, the members stated it wished to pay “token payments” to sub-postmasters, within the area of round £1m. The compensation invoice is now anticipated to succeed in £1bn.

Months after the conferences, former Post Office minister Jo Swinson reiterated the unbiased position of Second Sight in a parliamentary query in 2014 on the Horizon IT scandal. Vince Cable was the enterprise secretary on the time.

Second Sight’s contract was terminated in 2015 and the operations of “Project Sparrow” weren’t uncovered till years later.

In a press release, the Post Office stated: “We never discuss individuals and it would be inappropriate to comment on allegations being made outside of the Inquiry, whose role it is to consider all of the evidence on the issues it is examining and independently reach conclusions.

“We fully share the Public Inquiry’s aims to get to the truth of what happened in the past and accountability.”

In different developments, Labour MP Kevan Jones warned on Thursday of a possible “second scandal” involving the Post Office after considerations have been raised that subpostmasters have been convicted over losses involving one other IT system.

Labour MP Kevan Jones has referred to as on Post Office boss Nick Read to return earlier than MPs to reply questions following studies about faults with the Capture software program used for accounting.

Number 10 has stated it needs the matter investigated and “robust action” should happen if there are any points.

The i newspaper first reported considerations concerning the prospect of a second defective IT system, following on from the scandal over the Horizon system.

In a letter to Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake, Mr Jones stated: “We know the Capture software was faulty, resulting in corrupted data. We also know that the Post Office knew about these faults at the time, as it openly communicated with sub-postmasters about them.”