- Former investigator denies misconduct
- Post Office scandal inquiry update
- Accusations of harassment refuted
Stephen Bradshaw, a former investigator for the Post Office, has refuted allegations that he and his colleagues treated falsely accused sub-postmasters like “mafia gangsters.”
While testifying in the Post Office inquiry, Mr. Bradshaw was implicated in the criminal investigation involving nine sub-postmasters.
He denied that the sub-postmasters he investigated were coerced or misinformed.
Hundreds were erroneously prosecuted on fraudulent charges of money theft between 1999 and 2015.
The scandal was associated with over 900 convictions; thus far, only 93 have been overturned. This is due to the fact that a flawed computer system known as Horizon created the illusion of money being absent from accounts.
The government is poised to pass a measure to “urgently exonerate and compensate victims” of the scandal.
On Thursday, Mr. Bradshaw, who began his investigation of sub-postmasters with the unit in 2000, was questioned for several hours.
Statement excerpts were recited by Shazia Saddiq, a former sub-postmistress from Newcastle. She was the former proprietor of three post offices within the city. Saddiq was a native of Newcastle.
“I have been the recipient of intimidating phone calls from Stephen Bradshaw, who initiated contact prior to my becoming aware of his employment with the Post Office.” “He simply demanded my attention without identifying himself during his phone calls,” the statement continued.
Allegations of Harassment and Assault
Ms. Saddiq, a single mother, reflected on a 2016 date as follows: “When Stephen Bradshaw called me, I declined to communicate with him because I was unaware of his identity or the organization for which he was employed.
“In that telephone call… he called me a bitch which I found extremely distressing.”
Her assertions were deemed “completely untrue” by Mr. Bradshaw. He denied “hounding” her and insisted that he would identify himself on every phone call.
According to bogus reports, Ms. Saddiq and her children, who resided above one of their post offices, were assaulted.
Following the hurling of flour and eggs at us by the populace, we fled, and I have not returned since.” “My son was four and my daughter was eight. We left in such a hurry that they only brought their teddy bears with them,” she explained.
In 2011, Jacqueline McDonald was erroneously incarcerated on charges of alleged larceny.
In a statement, she accused Mr. Bradshaw of bullying her by falsely accusing her during an investigation.
Following her guilty plea regarding theft and fraudulent accounting pertaining to losses documented by Horizon at the Post Office branch she oversaw in Broughton, she received a sentence of 18 months in prison. After its reversal, her conviction was deemed a “affront to justice” by a senior judge of the Court of Appeal.
The inquiry heard how Mrs. McDonald pleaded guilty to avoid prison despite knowing her innocence. However, that decision proved to be catastrophic to her life.
Inquiry Disputes Harassment Claims
The committee heard Mrs. McDonald’s 2008 interview with Mr. Bradshaw was a “pack of lies”.
Mr. Bradshaw was exhaustively questioned regarding his involvement as the investigation’s leader into Mrs. McDonald.
Julian Blake, counsel for the inquiry, likened his language to elements “one might encounter in a 1970s television detective program.”
In his witness statement, in response to Mrs. McDonald’s accusations of aggressive conduct, Mr. Bradshaw stated, “I refute the allegation that I am a fraud. The claim that Jacqueline McDonald was harassed is also refuted.
He additionally stated: “Jacqueline McDonald is also incorrect in stating Post Office investigators behaved like mafia gangsters looking to collect their bounty with the threats and lies.”
Mr. Bradshaw responded to the inquiry by stating that he was still the security superintendent for the Post Office.
Mr. Blake’s suggestion that he “persisted” despite recognizing that Mrs. McDonald’s case presented broader concerns with the Horizon system was rejected on the grounds that it would be advantageous to his career.
The inquiry was informed that in 2012, Mr. Bradshaw signed a statement expressing “complete confidence” in the IT system’s integrity.
Technical Knowledge Disputed in Inquiry
On Thursday, however, he responded to the inquiry that he lacked “technical knowledge” and that the statement had been drafted by attorneys, adding, “With all due respect, an additional line reading ‘These are not my words’ would have been prudent in retrospect.'”
Mr. Bradshaw was also questioned regarding a letter pertaining to the case of Katherine McQue, who was allegedly given a “indication” in 2011 that a guilty plea to fraud was permissible “so long as the defendant stated in her plea agreement that nothing was wrong with Horizon.”
When asked whether it would be acceptable for a representative of the Post Office to state, “We will accept your plea, but only if you refrain from placing the blame on Horizon,” he responded with a brief pause and then said, “Probably not.”
The hearing on Thursday marked the resumption of the inquiry following the Christmas holiday. It follows a two-week period during which an ITV drama centered on the scandal has reignited public attention and prompted governmental intervention.
Inquiry by the Post Office commenced in February 2021. The objective of this impartial public statutory investigation is to compile a comprehensive account of the deficiencies that occurred within the Horizon IT system.
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The flawed software was implemented in 1999 and was supplied to the Post Office by Fujitsu. It was utilized for accountancy and inventory purposes.
The Post Office has been engaged in fraud investigations for nearly three centuries, in
accordance with the legal principle that permits private prosecution of criminal suspects in England and Wales. This electricity is also utilized frequently by the RSPCA.
Dominic Casciani asserts that the evidence repeatedly indicates that defendants were not informed of Horizon’s defects. Due to this violation of the court’s disclosure regulations, they were deprived of a fair and impartial trial.
MPs will question the CEOs of Fujitsu and the Post Office next week during an evidence session of the Business and Trade Committee.
Rishi Sunak supports ex-Post Office CEO investigation committee
