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well ... it's the royal mail which happens to be identical to the royal mail from the post office scandal. that's about the reassurance you got to expect. http

well ... it's the royal mail which happens to be identical to the royal mail from the post office scandal. that's about the reassurance you got to expect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal

1letterunixname 3y ago
I was just about to write this. If you can't make money by criminalizing the service providers, find new ways to criminalize the act of sending a letter on the demand side. Brilliant! ;@] Perhaps: 1. Deregulation and privatization don't work well for some critical services. The BPO should be re-regulated as a government department. 2. Abolish private criminal prosecution, as only the CPS should be allowed to bring criminal indictments.
- graemep 3y ago
  There is a good argument against 2. - it means people the CPS do not want to prosecute become above the law. Private prosecutions are a mechanism for prosecuting people the establishment does not want to prosecute. The CPS can already stop a particular private prosecution - take it over and then drop it. I agree with 1. The Royal Mail is a de facto monopoly for sending letters (less so for parcels).
retube 3y ago
The Royal Mail and the Post Office are not the same thing! They are completely separate businesses. The Fujitsu/sub-post master scandal has nothing to do with the Royal Mail.
- tgv 3y ago
  Wikipedia explicitly says: Post Office Limited From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Post Office Ltd) Not to be confused with Royal Mail.
  - 2-3-7-43-1807 3y ago
    thanks, just wanted to add this.
- Dyac 3y ago
  While they aren't the same thing now, they were up until 2011. The Horizon Post Office scandal began before in about 1999. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Services_Act_2011 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Services_Act_2011
bscphil 3y ago
The article credits a docuseries I've never heard of for making this a widely known issue: > A four-part television drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, was broadcast on ITV in January 2024, after which the scandal became a major news story and political issue. I swear I read some long form journalism on this issue years ago. Anyone know what I might have found? For the Brits who have previously heard of this scandal, did you know about it prior to January of this year?
- spuz 3y ago
  It was already a major news story and political issue before the ITV documentary. The documentary just made it bigger.
- snthd 3y ago
  Computer Weekly, 11 May 2009, Bankruptcy, prosecution and disrupted livelihoods - Postmasters tell their story https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240089230/Bankruptcy-prosecution-and-disrupted-livelihoods-Postmasters-tell-their-story https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240089230/Bankruptcy-pr... >A seventh postmaster, Alan Bates, refused to sign his weekly accounts, saying it would have made him liable for any losses. He has called for a public inquiry.
- Dyac 3y ago
  >For the Brits who have previously heard of this scandal, did you know about it prior to January of this year? Yes, I've been aware of it for about 10+ years, it's been covered on-and-off in the mainstream media for years. I think the (excellent) ITV series was well-timed to coincide with the current investigations and has improved understanding of the industrial scale of the injustice. Thinking about all the mistreated sub-postmasters and mistresses and how for some of them it ended, ruined, or dominated their lives is heartbreaking. To be honest, even just thinking about those shunned by their communities and neighbours because everyone was told they were criminals is awful, never mind the lives cut short. I do hope that now there is such clear evidence of the injustices available that people can be compensated properly and have their reputations restored.

1letterunixname 3y ago

I was just about to write this. If you can't make money by criminalizing the service providers, find new ways to criminalize the act of sending a letter on the demand side. Brilliant! ;@] Perhaps: 1. Deregulation and privatization don't work well for some critical services. The BPO should be re-regulated as a government department. 2. Abolish private criminal prosecution, as only the CPS should be allowed to bring criminal indictments.

graemep 3y ago
There is a good argument against 2. - it means people the CPS do not want to prosecute become above the law. Private prosecutions are a mechanism for prosecuting people the establishment does not want to prosecute. The CPS can already stop a particular private prosecution - take it over and then drop it. I agree with 1. The Royal Mail is a de facto monopoly for sending letters (less so for parcels).

retube 3y ago

The Royal Mail and the Post Office are not the same thing! They are completely separate businesses. The Fujitsu/sub-post master scandal has nothing to do with the Royal Mail.

tgv 3y ago
Wikipedia explicitly says: Post Office Limited From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Post Office Ltd) Not to be confused with Royal Mail.
- 2-3-7-43-1807 3y ago
  thanks, just wanted to add this.
Dyac 3y ago
While they aren't the same thing now, they were up until 2011. The Horizon Post Office scandal began before in about 1999. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Services_Act_2011 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Services_Act_2011

bscphil 3y ago

The article credits a docuseries I've never heard of for making this a widely known issue: > A four-part television drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, was broadcast on ITV in January 2024, after which the scandal became a major news story and political issue. I swear I read some long form journalism on this issue years ago. Anyone know what I might have found? For the Brits who have previously heard of this scandal, did you know about it prior to January of this year?

spuz 3y ago
It was already a major news story and political issue before the ITV documentary. The documentary just made it bigger.
snthd 3y ago
Computer Weekly, 11 May 2009, Bankruptcy, prosecution and disrupted livelihoods - Postmasters tell their story https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240089230/Bankruptcy-prosecution-and-disrupted-livelihoods-Postmasters-tell-their-story https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240089230/Bankruptcy-pr... >A seventh postmaster, Alan Bates, refused to sign his weekly accounts, saying it would have made him liable for any losses. He has called for a public inquiry.
Dyac 3y ago
>For the Brits who have previously heard of this scandal, did you know about it prior to January of this year? Yes, I've been aware of it for about 10+ years, it's been covered on-and-off in the mainstream media for years. I think the (excellent) ITV series was well-timed to coincide with the current investigations and has improved understanding of the industrial scale of the injustice. Thinking about all the mistreated sub-postmasters and mistresses and how for some of them it ended, ruined, or dominated their lives is heartbreaking. To be honest, even just thinking about those shunned by their communities and neighbours because everyone was told they were criminals is awful, never mind the lives cut short. I do hope that now there is such clear evidence of the injustices available that people can be compensated properly and have their reputations restored.