Today in Parliament, Jonathan Gullis took part in the Business & Trade Select Committee’s special scrutiny session on the Post Office scandal.
The session allowed MPs to understand why the process of redress took so long and scrutinised what went wrong with the Horizon system.
MPs spoke with campaigners including Alan Bates who was dismissed by the Post Office. He helped found Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance in 2009 which has been instrumental in campaigning against the Post Office.
In addition, MPs grilled the Director of Fujitsu, Paul Patterson, on what the company knew about the faulty computer system at the centre of what the Prime Minister has called “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history.”
Campaigners have called for Fujitsu to face financial consequences for its role in designing the Horizon system, which led to thousands of people being falsely accused, best depicted in the recent ‘ITV Drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office’.
Jonathan questioned former MP Lord Arbuthnot who played a pivotal role in helping sub-postmasters affected by the scandal. He asked him what he hoped would be the “final outcome” of the enquiry.
One of the tensest moments of the enquiry came when Jonathan grilled the head of Fujitsu: “Fujitsu has benefitted from 95 million pounds in contract extensions to continue operating the flawed horizon IT system. Will it volunteer today to compensate the victims arising using that £95 million”
Questioning the CEO of the Post Office, Nick Read, Jonathan Gullis said: “Are [any Directors who worked in the Post Office and were aware of the issues at the time] they unfit to hold directorships in any company both public and private?”
Responding, Nick Read said: “If evidence is produced that there was some form of cover up then clearly action needs to be taken”
Alongside grilling Mr Patterson and Mr Read, Jonathan spoke with Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton. He asked them “do you actually truly believe justice will ever be achieved?”
Responding, Mr Bates said: “I was talking to one of the group at the weekend. She’s 91 years old, how many more years has she got to wait for financial redress? Has she got to wait until she gets a telegram from The King? It's ridiculous how long the system is holding this up, it's absolute madness and it's very unfair and it's cruel.”