Is Ed Davey Lying About The Horizon Scandal

[barney15c]

He says that he was lied to by Government and PO officials  about the Horizon Scandal but was contacted by Postmaster Alan Bates twice, but chose to do nothing.

Isn't it an astonishing  that Davey trousered £275k  from a firm he was a consultant for that was activley helping to prosecute Postmasters for the PO, what are the odds of all the firms he was doing work for was involved in this scandal and him being a minister in charge  of the PO, staggering coincidence isn't it.  It's quite obvious he knows far more than he is letting on, he should be quitting the Lib Dems as a matter of principle.

[jno]

in hindsight he should have been more sceptical, yes. But it's more than 10 years since he left the job in charge of the PO, so of course the Tories are trying to blame everything on him.  But various other ministers have been in charge over the 10+ years since then, all from another party ... it's on the tip of my tongue ... anyway, the story has been running for years and none of them did anything about it, so I think the blame can be widely shared.

[newmodarmy]

And didn't the problems start and even come to light  under the Blair&Brown Labour government years ?

[ichkeria]

I am slow to this: why has it suddenly blown up now? There were lots about it years ago and nothing ever happened, including long after Ed Davey left the government.

[ToraToraTora]

TV dramatisation ich.

[ichkeria]

Oh yes of course, thanks Tora: bit scandalous it's taken something like that.

[jno]

they did, newmodarmy, but I'm not sure how long it took for people to join the dots to see just how many were affected and how mendacious the PO was. Personally, I think I've been aware of it all for about 10 years, mainly through Private Eye; but I'm sure there's a case that government ministers should have been involved far earlier than that.

[jno]

here's a press story from 2002

http://tinyurl.com/mrmtyj9a

[THECORBYLOON]

I've known about it for years and that's without taking any special interest in it so it's hardly been out the limelight.

[barney15c]

Computer Weekly have also done an excellent job covering the Horizon Crisis, have done so since 2009.

[Canary42]

///he should be quitting the Lib Dems as a matter of principle.///

I don't think principle and LibDems go together at all (remember student loans)

[douglas9401]

Any politician + any scandal = lies.

 

[ToraToraTora]

"I don't think principle and LibNonDems go together at all" - remember "Rowlocks to Brexit"?.... and democracy is in their name!

[Ellipsis]

Ed Davey was "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs" from 20 May 2010 to 3 February 2012.  There have been loads of other MPs in the same position as him, both before and since, during the Post Office fiasco. The later it went on, the worse it got, until in 2019 Paula Vennells got a CBE.  Now if Ed Davey is culpable for what he did in two years from 2010 to 2012, what can you make of the Tory government in 2019 giving Paula Vennells a CBE.  The truth is that Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories were all shockingly bad at dealing with this issue, which is why it went on for 20 or more years. In fact Alan Bates, on Channel 4 this evening, sad that Ed Davey was no better or worse than anybody else.  Basically, the Government sided with the Post Office all the way along, no matter who the Government was. 

[royfromaus]

Is Ed Davey Lying About The Horizon Scandal

 

rhetorical q, obviously.

[Ellipsis]

said*

[Peter Pedant]

but was contacted by Postmaster Alan Bates twice, but chose to do nothing.

yeah but no but

if you are a minister of a dept which is finding lots and lots of fraud

and someone rings you up and says "Look minister thre is a lot of fraud around" - bearing in mind that some are pleading guilty

you are going to preen and say proudly "yes there is, isnt there!"

Pleading guilty is a really bummer when it comes to "I didnt do it" - kinda speaking from experience

[Peter Pedant]

The truth is that Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories were all shockingly bad at dealing with this issue,

no the truth is - - - they didnt think it was an issue. There was a lot of fraud and alot of people were holding their hands up and saying "Yes I did it"

It was only later than there was a creeping realisation ("I need to be able to say that only the account holder can access the account - this is true isnt it?") that in fact there was a lot of perjury around

and even THEN you may think - oh god it cant be true

( Denning IRA bomber - one out, all out, a terrible vista to contemplate ( so their lordships didnt let them out))

[royfromaus]

Didn't anyone approach Kier Starmer?

[THECORBYLOON]

If Keir Starmer had been contacted, what could he have done to investigate the matter?

[Hymie]

A British politician lying – why is this news?