Just a quick piece as I have a full diary today with meeting some MP's and Lords and then on to further assist some HSS claimants and media commitments.  

Tonight on ITV Paul Brand will run a 30 minute report for the Tonight program looking back on the Drama That Shocked Britain, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.  There will be an exclusive slot with Minister Kevin Hollinrake so please do tune in and watch it.  We need to continue to keep the pressure on against the government to do much much more and at a greater speed.  We saw what can be done within days regarding the convictions when the heat reaches boiling point and politicians are forced into action.  The same needs to apply to the full and fair compensation that has been promised but so far the delivery has been slow or non existent.  

In my view the process just needs simplification.  They could have said those few claimants that have claims under £100,000 those would be settled in full within 28 days, no assessment, just paid which would free up the time needed for the more complex claims whilst at the same time saving on operation costs and expensive lawyer fees.  Then we could bring in a fixed percentage offer as an interim payment based on the overall headline claim being made.  If a claimant can produce an expert forensic accountant report paid for by government to fully quantify a Postmasters losses then a 20, 25 or 30% payment should be made within 28 days as an interim down payment without an ability to clawback, this would show they are serious about paying full and fair compensation without a litigious approach being taken.  Then the full claim would be assessed over the following 1-3 months in order to reach a full settlement.  This does not need to be made extremely complicated.  A large portion of claims especially in the GLO group run into high 6 and some into 7 figure sums, therefore a fixed percentage would give relief to those waiting whilst the rest of the claim gets assessed.  If the actual intention is to restore a Postmaster back to the position they would have been in had the scandal not happened then it is inconceivable that any final settlement would be less than the interim payment made in the first instance.  Before we can even talk about compensation Postmasters need to receive the money back they repaid as shortfalls plus interest, their loss of net earnings over the years, loss of their home if applicable, loss of their business, any extra financing costs whilst trying to balance the repayment of shortfalls, legal & professional fees, loss of savings and or pensions.  Then we can move on to compensation which in some cases would involve damage / loss to future earnings, loss of opportunity/chance and damages for the suffering that they and their families have gone through.  These include things like Malicious Prosecution, Harassment, Distress & Inconvenience, Personal Injury & anxiety, Stigma/Reputational Damage.  

This whole saga is being made way more complicated than it needs to be, which in turn with operational costs, expensive Post Office and Government lawyers and timeframes involved means those that are desperately in need continue to suffer and it is just not good enough given the rhetoric and statements been made.  The proof is in the actions, not the words and right now the words are just yet more empty promises.

I was also fantastic to meet Dan Niedle yesterday in Covent Garden for tea/coffee and finally meet face to face after working together over the past year on all the compensation issues.  Such a down to earth guy who has willingly given his time to help expose the continued injustice Postmasters are facing with regards to compensation and tax issues, his involvement that helped to force change and an additional tax top ups of £30 million pounds.  We will be forever grateful for the help he has given us all, and I will continue to work closely throughout the rest of this scandal.  Thank you for the croissant and tea Dan :-)