Post Office: Ex-boss who accused subpostmasters of having 'their hand in the till' under fire

A former Post Office boss has apologised after it was revealed that he blamed cash shortfalls on branch mangers "with their hands in the till".

The comment was made in an email, read out in the inquiry into the post office horizon IT scandal which saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted.

Giving evidence Alan Cook said it was an expression he would "regret for the rest of my life".

#postoffice #scandal #politics

[lugano]

He needs to be tried and hopefully found guilty and jailed. He also needs to have his bonuses taken back.

[canalboating]

"Subbies had their hands in the till" his instincts tell him, my instincts tell me he had his snout in the trough and couldn't give a toss

[shardundeeali]

Crapping themselves only as theyve been caught

[dereksawle]

'it was an inappropriate thing to put that in an email'?? so, it was ok to think it??? - sickening

[ursulasoames]

His total pension, perks and bonuses, homes and all ought to be put up towards very generous compensation for all those people who suffered for years as soon as possible ! ⚖️💪

[keithwatkins]

Incredible how a MD had no idea on how the business they managed actually operated and was themselves prosecuting sub postmasters! He failed to ensure proper investigation into Horizon system before he resigned, preferring to blame sub postmasters for hands in tills. A Post Office culture of blaming the innocent and protecting the guilty.

[eyrcuoi]

'Believing' that sub - postmasters had their hands' in the till was very convenient for management. The alternative was management having to take responsibility for the mess they caused by adopting Fujitsu's crap software.

[Cucuilinn]

Did the PO really think that 900 sub-postmasters were thieves. What percentage of the workforce was that?

[peterrhodes]

Maybe everybody in prison should just apologise. They they can all be set free. Those people are part of the 'old boys' network. They will be protected by 'the system'.

[rachelabbott]

She is so right, As Alan abates so rightly said “They are thugs in suits” end of!

[joegrand]

his little cute line about "this will be with me forever" like he had something bad happen to him !!! what a joke- but nothing will happen to him, except feelings of guilt (though he admits nothing) - meanwhile subpostmasters loose everything ---what a joke government will continue to cover this up - i predict zero criminal convictions

[davidsmart]

…and his snivelling half apology (“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life”), that attempted to equate his faux remorse with their pain was simply accepted by the MPs present.
Nobody held accountable, nobody punished…what’s the point?

[mazdamaniac]

After all he's said and done, his crass and disengenous apology of "I'm sorry...I didn't know what was going on." should be thrown out the window...it's a total lie.
He's only sorry because he was responsible and got caught, just like the rest of them, who all thought they'd get away with it while knowing exactly what they were doing.
These corporate types couldn't care less about the 'little' people, smooth-talking their way out of facing consequences, that's the culture of irresponsibility in modern management.
They need to be hit where it really hurts them, in their pocket. Fine them the total amount of all of their bonuses since this began, then use that for compensation for the posties.

Why isn't this in a criminal court room, where lying under oath (perjury) is a criminal offense? The Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service would have a field day with this.

[paulbird]

Choosing to call these professional people "SUBBIES" shows the disdain and contempt he had for these postmasters.

[Gilan]

So these shisters are under oath.... They are all lying through their teeth and need to charged with perjury

[robc]

When will criminal charges begin? So far, lots of evidence, plenty of arrogance and not real justice., why? How buggered up is the justice system? The subpostmasters where convicted based on no real evidence yet the clowns at the top with mountain of evidence of their guilt just walk on home, wtf.

[johnbraggins]

There needs to be accountability from this fiac

[grahamdaniel]

He had no idea or couldn’t remember what a liar 🤬

[bigkdog]

I bet that heartfelt apology at the beginning gave all the postmasters a warm, fuzzy feeling inside 👍

[mrflick]

Is he still alive? I am surprised nobody has dealt with this problem yet.