Postmasters pension raid ‘horrendous’
Former boss at Horizon probe
A FORMER Post Office boss has denied being the architect of a “hor- rendous” plan to target the pensions of sub-postmasters accused of fraud.
The Horizon IT inquiry heard exchief operating officer David Miller was at a meeting and was assigned the task of ensuring “that the pensions of fraudsters were targeted to help ensure the company was reimbursed”.
He also denied likening Horizon developers Fujitsu to a “man who had just shoved 15in of bayonet up my posterior”. Mr Miller was quoted in a 2010 PowerPoint presentation which said Post Office chiefs felt they had been “shafted” by the Government and the firm, then called ICL Pathway.
The document, by IT programme manager Dave Smith, said the agreement with the tech giant had been signed with a “gun pointed at the head” of the Post Office.
On the December 2004 board meeting, counsel to the inquiry Emma Price asked: “Was this a proposal that you made to the board, this particular reference to targeting the pensions?”
Mr Miller said: “It was something that was proposed by somebody else. I don’t recall this in any detail.” Ms Price continued: “What was your view on that?” and he said: “Seeing it here, it sounds horrendous.”
The ex-temporary managing director of the Post Office said he had “absolutely not” made the presentation comment, which he labelled “unprofessional”. The document went on: “Whilst the group’s board signed up to the deal (Sunday afternoon in the CEO’s kitchen!) they did so with a gun pointed at their head – ‘sign this or all the other things you want you can forget’. Dave Miller...said at the time: ‘I have the same feelings about Pathway as I would for the man who had just shoved 15in of bayonet up my posterior’.
Resentment
“No statement could more adequately express the attitude of Post Office towards Pathway.”
Ms Price asked: “Do you recall making the comment?” He replied: “Absolutely not.” He said there was a “resentment” towards the firm, later known as Fujitsu Services (Pathway).
Mr Miller told the inquiry he had not read a damning expert report about Horizon. Sam Stein KC, who represents sub-postmasters, asked: “Mr Miller...you’re either lying through your teeth or you’re a complete incompetent – which?”
Mr Miller responded: “I’m not lying through my teeth”, adding: “I’m not happy that I didn’t read that report.”
Ex-chief executive David Mills said he only became aware the Post Office was involved in prosecuting sub-postmasters near the end of his tenure.
More than 700 sub-postmasters were convicted from 1999 to 2015 as the faulty Horizon system made it seem as though money was missing from their branches, and hundreds are awaiting compensation.
The inquiry at London’s Aldwych House continues.