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[Christopher Head OBE @chrish9070]

#PostOfficeScandal New story in the @PunchlineGlos

Post Office victim shares her devastation

A victim of the Post Office scandal from Cheltenham has opened up about how it devastated her life and greatly affected her family.

Wendy Buffrey says that although she finally received compensation for being wrongfully convicted of stealing money from the Up Hatherley Post Office she used to run, it was not enough to enable her to retire.

So, at 67, she is still working - having started her own fire risk assessment business last November.

She said: "My son David is working with me and we're doing very well.

"But had my pay out - which I got at the beginning of 2025 - been more, I wouldn't have had to go back to work."

Her long ordeal saw her accused of stealing money, convicted of theft in court and finally having her conviction quashed. The agony, caused by the Post Office's malfunctioning Horizon machines, stretched from 2008 to 2021.

That has taken its toll on Mrs Buffrey, who lives with her husband Doug in the Springbank area of the town.

She said the stress and lack of sleep that the struggle caused had left her with fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes widespread pain throughout the body.

She said: "I'm in pain all the time, although I find that going swimming helps.

"But this is not something that goes away and they're not sure exactly what causes it."

Mrs Buffrey said the whole experience had been an extremely difficult one for her, Doug and their four children - one of whom tragically died in an accident.

She added: "It affected all of the family and something in you dies when you go through something like this. It doesn't come back."

Recalling the 2024 ITV drama about the scandal that raised public awareness of it to an even greater level, Mrs Buffrey said: "None of it was really a surprise for me. I knew a lot of the real people who featured in it and it was worse than in the programme."

But she has got on with her life in a positive way, managing to get to a point where she now feels able to talk about what happened and share how she feels about it.

Asked if she is cross about what the scandal did to her, she said: "I'm not cross now. I've had a lot of counselling so I can talk about it.

"I still get a little bit angry but I don't invest the emotion into it any more that I used to."

Part of the process of getting on with her life has seen her spend less time campaigning for justice for the thousands of sub postmasters in the UK whose lives were affected by the false accusations and convictions.

She said: "I have stepped back a bit. It's time for other people to hold the torch. Although I received my compensation in 2025, there are still over 1,000 people waiting for theirs."

Mrs Buffrey misses the people she used to come across when she was at the heart of the Up Hatherley community - working in the post office in Hatherley Road, which was also her home.

And despite the enormous hurt caused by the Post Office as an organisation, she wants the public to continue to support their local post office branches.

She said: "If you've got a local post office, use it. If you do, you're supporting the sub-postmasters who are there for your benefit."

Mrs Buffrey was delighted to have been publicly thanked by Up Hatherley Parish Council at the start of this year. She was asked to attend one of its meetings and was pleasantly surprised to be presented with a 'certificate of meritorious service' in recognition of her work at the post office and the campaigning she has done to help wronged sub-postmasters like herself.

She said: "It was so lovely. The council said it was long overdue and they wanted to make sure I realised they were still supportive of me.

"I really do appreciate it. It's up on the wall at home, next to my letter about my conviction being quashed."

We all wish Wendy Buffrey well and every success in her new business

Full story here👇
https://t.co/bDP52or8G7

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

Curse of Private Equity.

Former WH Smith’s small suppliers to lose half of debts in rescue plan.

Some won't be repaid for a year.

Products bought from suppliers sold but they won't be paid, with implicit threat -agree with us or else.

Knock-on effects?
https://t.co/9KHUgQpQzs

[Christopher Head OBE @chrish9070]

#PostOfficeScandal 🚨Breaking🚨Latest by @JohnHyde1982 for the @lawsocgazette

SRA charges two solicitors linked to Post Office scandal‼️

Two solicitors have become the first to be charged with alleged misconduct linked to the Post Office scandal.

Jane MacLeod and Nick Gould have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in relation to their conduct following the scandal's exposure. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said today it can take action on these cases because they are unlikely to prejudice criminal investigations or the ongoing public inquiry.

MacLeod was the general counsel of the @PostOffice from 2015 to 2019 – her tenure coinciding with the Bates litigation – and was asked to appear before the public inquiry in 2024 to answer questions about the advice she provided about how the case should be defended and what internal documents should be disclosed.

But having moved to Australia, she declined to appear before the inquiry (@PostOffInquiry ) either in person or through a video link. Inquiry counsel Jason Beer KC told chair Sir Wyn Williams: ‘We are not going to hear from her. She lives abroad and won’t co-operate.’

The SRA decision notice alleges that between 11 April 2024 and 31 July 2024, MacLeod failed to co-operate fully with the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry in relation to a request for her to give oral evidence to the Inquiry.

Gould was not a Post Office lawyer but represented former sub-postmistress Seema Misra pro bono for her conviction being overturned in 2021. It has been reported that following her conviction being quashed, she signed a retainer for the provision of commercial legal services and was later required by him to pay £60,000 in legal fees.

The SRA alleges that between May 2021 and April 2025, Gould failed to provide adequate information in respect of the likely overall costs, the costs that were incurred and the legal work that he was instructed to undertake.

It is further alleged that Gould raised invoices without providing adequate justification, send correspondence which was inappropriate and/or offensive and breached his duty of client confidentiality.

The allegations involve two unnamed clients.

Gould was a partner at Aria Grace Law CIC until 7 February 2025 and, since 10 February 2025, has worked as an independent legal consultant at Impact Lawyers Ltd.

Charges against both MacLeod and Gould are subject to a hearing before the SDT and are as yet unproven. Gould declined to comment when approached by the Gazette.

In a statement, Jonathan Peddie, executive director of investigations, enforcement and litigation at the SRA said: ‘We have referred two cases to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The cases refer to conduct that took place in the period after the main events of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

‘Our wider investigations are still ongoing. This includes issues relating directly to the Horizon scandal, where we are working closely with the Inquiry team and the Metropolitan Police. We can and will act if we find that solicitors we regulate fail to meet our standards.’

https://t.co/XcpMZWsiUV

[Karl Flinders @Karlfl]

Read this great opinion piece from peer James Arbuthnot, a brilliant campaiugner for justice and contact for Computer Weekly #PostOfficeScandal https://t.co/wRoALDQPFh

[Liam Byrne MP @liambyrnemp]

Nearly £1.6bn has been paid out, but thousands of sub-postmasters are still waiting for redress.

Complexity is no longer an excuse for delay.

Fujitsu must back its moral obligation with hard cash, and ministers need to be far more aggressive in demanding it. Now.

Link to the report: https://t.co/FT5yXiCgLH

[Monsieur Cholet @stugoo17]

#PostOfficeScandal #DutyofCandour #HillsboroughLawNow #Windrush #Primodos #InfectedBlood #Windrush #Grenfell #NuclearTestVets

👉13 Sub-postmasters took their own lives.
👉72 people died in Grenfell Tower.
👉Thousands died waiting for Infected Blood compensation that never came.
👉97 Liverpool supporters were killed — then blamed for their own deaths by the Police force that failed them.

Britain's response?

A Law ordering Public Officials to simply tell the TRUTH.

@AndyBurnhamGM wrote it in 2017. It's still not on the Statute Book.

He's about to become Prime Minister.

[Monsieur Cholet @stugoo17]

#PostOfficeScandal #FUJITSU #Redress #UKTaxpayer

Chair of the Business Select Committee, Rt Hon @liambyrnemp, has called again for Fujitsu to back up their 'moral obligation' mantra with hard cash. 💷 💴

He also calls on Ministers to be far more aggressive and assertive in demanding that Fujitsu make an interim payment - TODAY.

Ex-SubPostmaster and victim of the Scandal @tim_brentnall rightly points out that Fujitsu "have made an awful lot from the Taxpayer in the last 30 years"

Some sobering numbers on Fujitsu Services Limited.

1. The Post Office Horizon Contract is believed to have been Fujitsu’s most lucrative ever contract in the UK - earning the Japanese-owned firm more than £2.5 Billion over its 25-plus years duration.

2. Taxpayer funded Public Sector contracts awarded to Fujitsu since 2012 totals £5, 240,416,866 (Source @TrussellUK )

3. Analysis of Fujitsu Services Limited Statutory Accounts indicates they have paid the Exchequer the princely sum £181.2 Million in Corporation Tax over the past 14 Years - 3.46% ‼️

Fujitsu's contribution to the Post Office Horizon Scandal Redress Schemes remains at ZERO.

But as enumerated above there's a quieter cost the Public Purse is also carrying: as the company's IP and strategic control increasingly shift into a Netherlands holding structure, the taxable profit shifts with them — leaving the UK entity as a lower-margin zombie shell with less to tax and less assets from which to claim should 'moral obligations' not translate into 💷

The bottom line is the UK Taxpayer is not only funding all the £2 Billion Redress Bill, it is also footing a second Bill through HMRC's lost Corporation Tax ‼️

We are ALL being played by this 'parasitic' IT titan leaching the public purse over the past 30 years.

@Fujitsu_Global @fujitsu_uk @JAPANinUK @AmbJapanUK @PostOffice @CastletonLee @Janetsk20073533 @VarchasPatel @DanNeidle @commonsBTC @CommonsPAC @DavidDavisMP @NAOorguk @BBCBusiness @deptofbuis @premnsikka @HouseofCommons @UKHouseofLords @rbrooks45 @BBCEmmaSimpson @marksweney @andyverity @NanettevdLaan @SkyNewsAdele
@JpIndustryNews @japan

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

MPs urge Fujitsu to make immediate payment to Post Office Horizon victims.

£1.5bn paid from public purse, more to the come. Fujitsu paid zero.

Compensation to Capture victims mounting.

Urging won't do, need emergency legislation to force Fujitsu to pay.
https://t.co/Dsj7tURKN4

[David Davis MP @DavidDavisMP]

The Post Office IT scandal is one of the most devastating miscarriages of justice in British history.

It is right that Fujitsu - the company that designed the system that decimated the postmasters' lives - contributes to the compensation bill for victims.

Victims must quickly get the compensation and redress they deserve. They have already waited far too long.

https://t.co/DtggEZLy5n

[Nick Wallis @nickwallis]

The Post Office has claimed it should not make public crucial documents written six years ago, partly on the grounds doing so could compromise its capacity to receive a fair trial, should it ever face criminal proceedings over the Horizon IT scandal.

https://t.co/dNIrcXi2DF

[Lost Chances (Registered Charity 1213178) @LostChances2024]

#postofficescandal SHAME ON YOU!

Fujitsu says it has a “moral obligation” to Horizon victims.

Its chairman has now resigned amid a separate governance controversy.

When the boardroom is on fire, long-running scandals become harder to leave on the balance sheet.

[Monsieur Cholet @stugoo17]

https://t.co/nf0gwuJd9n

[Karl Flinders @Karlfl]

Horizon Compensation Advisory Board rejects Post Office Capture objections in latest letter #PostOfficeScandal https://t.co/VsSZVe84WU

[Christopher Head OBE @chrish9070]

#PostOfficeScandal Another piece by the brilliant and relentless @Karlfl of @ComputerWeekly as they continue to keep the scandal in the spotlight.

Chair of the HCAB (Horizon Compensation Advisory Board) Professor Chris Hodges OBE has sent another letter in reply to @PostOffice Chair Nigel Railton. Railton’s position appears to have changed from his appearance at the @CommonsBTC session in January this year where he told the Chair @liambyrnemp that he supports extending the legislation to include Capture Cases. Yet the organisation he chairs and within the recent correspondence appears he also supports the contesting of the appeals.

Similarly to why the legislation was brought to exonerate victims of Horizon and actions of the Post Office because the process takes far too long and many people would not live to see justice being done, the Capture situation is far worse given the passage of time and the harms done date back to 1992, some 7 years before the full rollout of the Horizon IT system. If Post Office contest the current appeals and succeed it will put these former Postmasters and their families through the grinder and therefore the other cases that will follow. We risk that innocent people fail to get their convictions overturned and a number may pass away (if they haven’t already) before they get their day in court. This is completely unaccetable and unnecessary.

As the William Blackstone’s once asserted :- “It is better for 10 guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to suffer a wrongful conviction.”

As Railton has already agreed in his recent letter to the HCAB board he stated Post Office have 2 options, to concede the Appeals or Contest them. They have a choice and they have made theirs very well known. Rather than stopping the ongoing suffering of Postmasters and their families, they are choosing to inflict more delay and harm onto them. It is a disgrace🤬

In response on the 12th June HCAB Chair Hodges said, “Colleagues and I have considered carefully the extensive legal argument that you set out. It is not balanced or persuasive and does not change our view.”

“It is just not right, just or fair that the Post Office should object to these appeals, given that it was the perpetrator of the fundamental injustice that caused this whole scandal, and such harm to victims, both convicted and unconvicted.”

"In corporate governance terms, the conflict of interest for the Post Office is blatant."

Hodges continued “cases have been considered and investigated independently by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which concluded that there is a clear case that the convictions are unsafe."

“The decisions are up to the Court of Appeal. Should it feel in need of assistance in deciding the appeals, it can no doubt arrange this independently."

👇
https://t.co/TavUgWk8HR

[ComputerWeekly @ComputerWeekly]

Post Office Capture appeal objections not 'right, just or fair' https://t.co/R6QngmggoT

[Nick Wallis @nickwallis]

Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report delayed yet again:

https://t.co/7WSn3NAIxH

#PostOfficeScandal

[Monsieur Cholet @stugoo17]

#PostOfficeScandal #PostOfficeInquiry
Smart money must now be on late October before publication of Inquiry Report.
Huge knock on implications for Olympos, Fujitsu, Regulators etc, - and Nick's book‼️@nickwallis

[Sam Carr @Piccasqueak]

Verge of Collapse: Third Pay Cut Raises Fears for Britain’s Post Offices. @nickwallis @PostOffice @voiceofthePM

[Monsieur Cholet @stugoo17]

#PostOfficeScandal
November 2024
'Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, has today (13 November 2024) set out an ambitious five-year Transformation Plan for the Post Office to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’ that significantly increases their total annual income through revenue sharing and strengthens their role in the direction of the organisation.

The ‘New Deal for Postmasters’ follows a Strategic Review initiated by Mr Railton in May. The Transformation Plan sets out an ambition to deliver a quarter of a billion pounds boost to Postmasters’ income by 2030.'

Today - cheque's lost in the post 🤷‍♂️ 📩🔻📩🔻📩

@voiceofthePM
@NigelRailton
@PostOffice @PostOfficeNews @CWU @CWUPostmaster @brentjay1 @richardtrinder1 @liambyrnemp

[brent jay @brentjay1]

https://t.co/Giak2XZkal