Chairman back in spotlight after Post Office scandal
THE sale of LV to Bain Capital has thrust the mutual’s chairman Alan Cook into the spotlight once again. The 67-year-old was boss of the Post Office from 2006 to 2010, when the prosecution of sub-postmasters began. Under his watch the Horizon computer system was introduced. This system wrongly suggested money was going missing from post offices and led management to pursue the prosecutions even though doubts had been raised about its reliability.
It led to 39 sub-postmasters wrongfully being found guilty of theft, in what a judge who overturned the verdicts in April described as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice.
His tenure at LV began in 2017. He insists Bain’s is the best option on the table. But his judgement has been questioned before – he insisted the Post Office Horizon system was ‘robust and fit for purpose’. He has never apologised. After the convictions were quashed, Gareth Thomas MP said: ‘Cook has serious questions to answer.’