Ed Davey accuses Post Office of ‘conspiracy of lies’ as outrage over Horizon scandal grows

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Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey has accused the Post Office of mendacity to him on an “industrial scale” as he comes below stress over the Horizon scandal.

Sir Ed has been going through contemporary scrutiny over his position as postal affairs minister within the coalition authorities, with the key miscarriage of justice within the highlight due to an ITV drama.

Victims of the scandal that noticed a whole lot of subpostmasters convicted as a result of of defective accounting software program have argued the MP has inquiries to reply.

He can also be going through rising Conservative assaults about his ministerial position between 2010 and 2012.

Sir Ed informed broadcasters: “I wish I had known then what we all know now, the Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers.”

He stated it was “clear they were all lying to me” as he put the considerations of campaigning former subpostmaster Alan Bates to officers.

“My heart goes out to all those people, we need to make sure their convictions are overturned and we need to make sure they are fairly compensated, and quickly,” he stated.

In an interview with the Guardian, Sir Ed went additional to accuse senior Post Office managers of unleashing a “conspiracy of lies” in opposition to ministers.

But the newspaper stated he refused to apologise for his position within the scandal as he issued a private defence.

He additionally questioned why the Conservatives had awarded former Post Office boss Paula Vennells a CBE, amid mounting stress to rescind the gong.

“They knew all about this,” he stated. “I’d like to know who signed it off. It was a bizarre decision given that this was clearly in the public domain.”

The Tories have been attacking Sir Ed over the scandal, with Conservatives fearing a menace posed by the Lib Dems on the subsequent normal election.

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson accused him of having taken “the side of the employers over the workers”.

“This man, this Ed Davey, has not really looked at both sides of the story. He took the side of the Post Office employers and sadly many went to prison due to him not listening,” Mr Anderson informed GB News, which employs him as a presenter.

“But he really should be coming out now – instead of making excuses, instead of saying he was lied to, he should properly apologise, make a public apology in Parliament to these people that sadly took their lives, the families of these victims, and the people who went to prison.”