Ex-Post Office Minister squirms as satirical TV show puts Horizon scandal back in the news
As TV’s Ian Hislop brought the Horizon IT scandal back into the news, the Post Office has continued its bid to mend bridges by appointing serving postmasters to its board for the second time.
Brian Smith has 19 years’ experience at Clocktower Post Office on the Shetland Islands, while Sara Barlow has run the Rainhill branch in Merseyside for six years, and they are now taking over as non-executive directors following the elections held in October.
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said: “It’s absolutely right that postmasters should play a leading role in shaping the future of the Post Office, providing invaluable experience to ensure it serves the needs of communities across the country. Brian and Sara will make excellent additions to the leadership team, helping to further bridge the gap between branches and the board.”
The news came shortly before the BBC screened the Have I Got News For You episode on Friday, 13 December, where team captain and Private Eye editor Ian left Lib-Dems leader Sir Ed Davey squirming by taking aim at the MP’s accusation that civil servants and the Post Office had been “lying to him” about the Horizon scandal when he was postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012.
More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the company between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts, while there are thought to be potentially more than 3,000 victims in total through criminal and private prosecutions, civil claims and contract withdrawals.
The topic of civil servants was the first to come up on the satirical panel show, with Sir Ed telling his team captain, comedian Paul Merton: “I’m always very careful about talking about the civil service because half of them are Lib-Dem party members.”
Ian responded: ‘Though you did blame your civil servants didn’t you? Over the Post Office – I think you did. I hate to bring it up this early in the show.”
A slightly-stunned Sir Ed replied: “You worked out they were lying to everybody earlier than most,” and Ian retorted: “But you didn’t,” before the politician apologised and added: “No, I didn’t, no, and I’m really sorry that I didn’t and that’s why the inquiry is so important.”
Social media users praised the journalist for sticking up for the innocent postmasters and mistresses, as he highlighted that, despite the TV series Mr Bates Vs The Post Office screened earlier this year igniting public interest in scandal and leading to the then-government budgeting £1billion for compensation, many victims still haven’t been paid.
After the lengthy court battle ended with 2019’s ruling that computer errors were at fault for the accounting discrepancies and there had been a miscarriage of justice leading to around 100 wrongful convictions being overturned, the Post Office appointed serving postmasters to the board for the first time in its 360-yeaar history in 2021.
Saf Ismail, from Preston, has now stepped down while Elliot Jacobs, who runs the nine-branch UOE Stores network in in London, Herts, and Surrey, has had his tenure extended to bring continuity as Brian took up his role on 4 December, and Sara starts on 28 January.
Brian said: “I am eager to bring my unique insights, diverse skills, and unwavering commitment to the Post Office’s mission to the board. My passion for community engagement, drive for innovation, and a deep understanding of the retail landscape, will all aid me to support the Post Office on its path to modernisation and continued success.”
Sara, awarded a British Empire Medal for services to business and the community, commented: “Whether it’s through peer support or in my role on the wellbeing initiative team, I’m driven to help support postmasters on a wide range of issues from remuneration improvements to emotional support.”
Their appointment has been approved by the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and Post Office chairman Nigel Railton said: “We have an ambitious five-year transformation plan and both will bring critical real-life experience to the role helping us deliver a new deal for postmasters that will also benefit the nine million customers that visit our branches every week and who rely on the essential products and services postmasters and their teams provide.”
