This is Northumberland Calling 5.1.24

The There are scandals and then this is the Horizon software PO scandal edition

Hello America, (particularly Central Ohio), this is Northumberland calling

In surprise to very few, Sunak signalled that the British General Election will happen in the autumn. The current thinking is that the Conservatives will lose. The country is broken and they have created unforced messes. Whether Labour is the right party to clean this up is a matter of conjecture. Rivalling the Conservatives is the Reform Party (formerly Brexit) which used to be led by Nigel Farage and now led by Richard Tice. Reform states they want to contest every seat but have not selected candidates in all seats yet (including Hexham). The Conservative MP for Hexham Guy Opperman, he who helped to enshrine ESG in pensions, will be standing again. In theory it should be a safe seat for the Conservatives… https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/conservatives-rishi-sunak-uk-general-election-2024-policies-why-has-sunak-delaying-election-jjgdjwnlm or https://archive.is/7UEnY

Boris Johnson told the Met Police to do their day job and stop medalling in international politics after they put up posters requesting information about ‘war crimes’ in the Hamas-Israeli conflict. The Police say that they are doing their job in supporting the ICC. Various KCs and Johnson say they should focus on solving local knife crime. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/met-police-appeal-over-israel-hamas-war-crimes-is-virtue-signalling-says-jewish-barrister-j08mvqhx2 or  https://archive.is/ArzKf

The big centrepiece of the ITV New Year’s schedule  Mr Bates v the Post Office has been shown over 4 nights (catch up in the UK on ITV X). It is based on the true case of the sub-postmasters wrongly accused of theft and how the Post Office attempted to cover up the faulty nature of the Horizon computer programme, ruining over 3500 sub-postmasters and causing four suicides in the process. The struggle for compensation is on going, despite the Appeal Court ruling that what the Post Office had done was affront to British Justice. The former CEO Paula Vanells still retains her damehood – there is a petition to remove it. The programme does a good job of explaining the ins and outs and making the viewer care deeply about this miscarriage of justice. Toby Jones is excellent as Mr. Bates btw – if it comes on Masterpiece Theatre watch it.

BBC Sounds also has a long running expose of the scandal which should be better known in the US. It was truly a Kafkaesque nightmare for those innocent sub postmasters who became emmeshed in the web which the Post Office and Fujitsu wove. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m000jf7j

The Lib Dem leader Ed Davey who was the Postal Affairs Minister now claims the PO higher ups deeply misled him about the problem. For a long time, the PO claimed they could not remote access the accounts when in fact the subcontractor Fujitsu was able to and did alter accounts without the sub-postmasters knowing. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ed-davey-i-was-misled-by-post-office-bosses-over-horizon-scandal-vgq3w58zp   or https://archive.is/nCRJU   

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/ex-post-office-boss-paula-vennells-should-hand-back-cbe-over-scandal-says-tory-minister/ar-AA1mp7KA

This is a list of 23 unanswered questions for the lawyers who were actively involved in this miscarriage of justice:

Where were the lawyers? 23 questions...

This is today’s Telegraph leader on the subject. The public inquiry has gone on for 3 years and is over 13 months overdue in reporting its conclusion. If you want an example of the Blob/Establishment protecting its own… https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2024/01/05/post-office-leaders-accountable/ or https://archive.is/4u7Cd

It is important to provide for ‘basic female needs’ in the workplace aka toileting facilities with a proper lockable door. The only female security guard at a facility won her claim for sex discrimination as no such toilet facility was provided. She  often had to clean the cubicle before she could use it. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/female-security-guard-share-lavatory-men-wins-payout-86lrr8xcs  or https://archive.is/wjYoH

The Queen has started a new podcast on reading where she interviews her favourite authors. The first podcast debuts on 8 January. You can find out more about the Queen’s Reading Room here:

https://thequeensreadingroom.co.uk/

The last of the SAS Rogue heroes and its first desert navigator, Mike Sadler has died. He truly was remarkable in a way which is open to very few. If you saw the tv series SAS Rogue heroes, he was the one who led the Long Range Desert Patrol which picked the SAS to begin with. Later he participated in the raids. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/major-mike-sadler-obituary-nrsgphbqs  or https://archive.is/FHuJC

And for fans of the original Mary Poppins and the song ‘Sister Suffragette’ Glynis Johns has died aged 100.  Truly a song which can resonate. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/04/mary-poppins-actress-glynis-johns-dies-aged-100/

The South Shields stalwart Barbour is in the news for having a excellent year. Its waxed jackets are a boon in a wet climate like the UK.  My oldest Barbour, a Northumbrian,  is well over 30 years old and was sent back for reconfiguring over a decade ago. They are v good at repair as I thought at the time it was unsalvageable. .I do do my own waxing of the jacket every year or so.  They even now have a dog range as I found out when I visited the factory shop last autumn.  However, their boot toy was not very robust… https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/barbour-wax-jackets-british-fashion-must-have/ or https://archive.is/yUJjY

Islay

I continue to work on ‘The Silver Horde’ Terry Pratchett jigsaw puzzle and Paddy continues to work on returning to the spaniel tuned whistle. Works in Progress. I have started writing another Viking which is always an exciting prospect, particularly as it will be partly set on Islay, one of my favourite Scottish Islands.

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