Post Office Inquiry: Week 4 – Recap

The Post Office inquiry resumed on 23 September for its seventh and final phase. Here is a summary of who gave evidence during week 4.

Tuesday 15 October

Mike Young – former Chief of Technology and Operations Services Director (Phase 5/6 evidence)

Despite giving evidence in Phase 7, Mike Young’s evidence related to matters covered during Phase 5 and 6. Mike Young had roles such as the Chief of Technology and Operations Service Director whilst working at POL from August 2008 until April 2012.

During the course of his evidence, he was asked about his relationship with Fujitsu in which he explained he would routinely seek assurances from Fujitsu about the delays and anomalies that occurred during testing and he was also questioned about his knowledge of bugs.

At the end of his evidence, the Chair to the Inquiry apologised to Mr Young for any unnecessary distress he may have caused him after he had previously stated that they could not trace Mr Young during the previous phase. He noted that this was ‘palpably wrong’ given they had been able to trace him, and Mr Young has been in communication with the Inquiry.

Simon Oldnall – Horizon IT Director at Post Office Ltd (POL)

Mr Oldnall is currently employed as the branch Technology Director at POL and had provided the Inquiry with four witness statements – the first was a corporate statement that addressed a ‘Teach-in’ session provided to the Inquiry when it was constituted in non-statutory form, whilst his second, third and fourth witness statements were given in response to questions that were directed to POL.

He was asked about actions and events that took place prior to him joining the Post Office in December 2020, along with questions about changes to the ARQ request form that were instructed by Fujitsu around mid-to-late May 2024 which included two new mandatory questions that had been added in relation to Fujitsu providing data to the Post Office; which the Post Office did not deem to be necessary.

Wednesday 16 October

Tracy Marshall – Retail Engagement Director at POL

Tracy Marshall is the Retail Engagement Director at the Post Office who has worked for the Post Office since 1998. Despite her longstanding employment at the Post Office which coincides with key dates of the Horizon scandal, the Chair did not deem it necessary to give her a warning against self-incrimination; a warning he has previously given to some witnesses, which allows that witness to refuse to answer a question if doing so could lead them to say anything that might incriminate themselves in criminal proceedings and/or expose them to a penalty in England and Wales.

Ms Marshall has had a number of roles during her time at POL and is now responsible for postmaster on-boarding, training and engagement. Since May/June 2024, she has stepped back from the part of her role involving postmaster engagement, further to allegations that she is implicated in POL’s past, something which she vehemently denies.

Melanie Park – Central Operations Director at POL

Melanie Park is the Central Operations Director at POL, a role she has held since 17 October 2022.

She was asked various questions, including about Branch Assurance Visits (BAVs), formerly ‘audits’. She did not accept that it might be preferable to have these visits carried out by a body independent of POL; she said that knowledge of the Horizon system made the stock checks more accurate.

Thursday 17 October

John Bartlett – Director of Assurance and Complex Investigations at POL

John Bartlett is currently the Director of Assurance and Complex Investigations at POL, having joined the Post Office in February 2022. He was able to give an insight into the various teams at POL that undertake investigations, and was taken through various policies and procedures that are in place at POL.

Friday 18 October

Ben Foat – General Counsel at POL

Ben Foat confirmed he had been on a leave of absence since April 2024 for health reasons and to allow him to focus on the Inquiry. He was unable to appear in phases 5 and 6 so that evidence was also covered today with his phase 7 evidence.

Ben Foat stressed that in his initial role as Head of Legal for Financial Services he was not involved in the GLO or with Post Office prosecutions. He took over from Jane MacLeod as General Counsel in May 2019 and denied accusations he advised CEO Nick Read not to dig into the past. He accepted Post Office were responsible for serious disclosure failings but said steps had been taken to address data management. He also defended the HSS scheme and said Post Office were committed to delivering fair compensation.

The Crime Team at Hodge Jones & Allen have the privilege of representing a number of SPM’s as Core Participants in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. The Civil Liberties & Human Rights Team and Dispute Resolution Team also represent SPM’s in respect of compensation claims. If you, or anyone you know, is a victim of the Post Office Scandal please call us now on 0808 278 8389 or email our legal experts at postofficeclaims@hja.net.