Grace Augustine

Associate Prof in Business & Society at University of Bath; current projects: "talent divestment" from fossil fuel companies & the UK Post Office scandal

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@Jugistoteles Not published but I think Derin Kent at Warwick is working on this too! Happy to connect your student

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@DrKorica I was asked in a talk who my favorite org theorist was, and replied with a name, then the person who asked the q told me “that’s strange he’s not an org theorist” I felt so embarrassed and afterwards I looked up the profile & the person’s main research interest is org theory

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

Glad to play a small role in helping the #PostOffceScandal story reach an even wider international audience through @TheWorld - thanks for having me and more importantly elevating the victims' stories https://t.co/FJwq1EkXfU

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@tim_brentnall @nickwallis @WarmingtonRjw @forensicgod @ElCShaikh @chrish9070 @scullyp @kevinhollinrake excellent interview!

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

Excellent analysis of the #PostOffceScandal and its connection to other cases of "the abuse of unaccountable power" https://t.co/LGphcaiVQ8

[Dan Neidle @DanNeidle]

The Post Office's compensation scheme is designed to minimise payouts. One postmaster received £15.75.

That isn't a typo.

I count nine ways the Post Office's HSS compensation scheme is rigged:

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@nickwallis Thank you Nick! Your service to this cause is outstanding.

[Tom Witherow @TomWitherow]

Important point when writing about Horizon scandal:

There are 4,000+ victims - not 'hundreds':

** 983 overturned convictions
** 2,750 HSS (lost money, weren't prosecuted)
** c. 500 more in #MrBatesVsThePostOffice group (exc OC)
** 100+ more came forward post-ITV.

Total = 4,333

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

Sunak says government will legislate to exonerate victims of Post Office Horizon scandal during #PMQs

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

We are looking to speak with more former SPMs affected by the #PostOfficeScandal for our research on how SPMs came to break their silence about their false accusations. Message me if you’re interested in participating. @chrish9070 @stugoo17 @VarchasPatel @CastletonLee @jan2812ski

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@Ian_Fraser @davidjenright @ComputerWeekly Also, you've probably seen this, but also relevant is @RichardMoorhead and colleagues' work that finds that mental health implications are nearly the same for those SPMs who were falsely accused as for the group who were falsely convicted. https://t.co/2j04rJeZY2

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@Ian_Fraser @davidjenright @ComputerWeekly Couldn't agree more, this is such an important part of this story. We find these themes of trauma running through the witness statements from the Public Inquiry, and this is from those who have come forward. https://t.co/NUWNzdU6sW

[Tom Witherow @TomWitherow]

Breaking: Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has handed back her CBE.

Comes after Sunak called for her to be stripped of the honour and a petition reached 1.2 million signatures.

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@carolinebilton @CastletonLee he's such an excellent spokesperson and so glad everyone is finally listening

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@CastletonLee @nickwallis excellent programme - https://t.co/2kGG2iRCV7

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

Thank you @jhansonradio for having me on @TimesRadio to discuss the #PostOfficeScandal - from 41:35 It's really hard to understand how it took PO leadership over a decade to ask the basic question of #Horizon "Is it possible to access the system remotely?" https://t.co/PEIFVdmmrp

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

From an organisational standpoint, I would add to this to give workers greater access to their own data. From what I understand sub-postmasters could not check their own accounts to the transaction level in the Horizon system, meaning they couldn't defend themselves.

[Tom Witherow @TomWitherow]

Preventing the next Post Office scandal:

** Change the law so it does not presume computers are reliable - sometimes they're not.

** Expert quoted below: “The defendant has to claim the system is not reliable, but they do not have any evidence. This means it is impossible."

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@martinstanford @LBCNews Also, as I mention, my @BathSofM colleague
@M_Heffernan's concept of Wilful Blindness could not be more apparent in this case. https://t.co/GnKDyoOt8g

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

Thanks @martinstanford @LBCNews for having me on this morning to speak on the #PostOfficeScandal. Victims have faced a decades-long nightmare & deserve fair compensation now. And we need witnesses to engage honestly with the Public Inquiry to get to the truth.

[Grace Augustine @Gaugustine]

@RevRichardColes We've asked this a lot in our research as well, as we study the barriers victims faced in speaking out. Many did not even want to tell their closest family members, let alone broadcast it. But I do think it would've enabled people who were looking to find one another more easily.