A Post Office inspector denied that he and his colleagues were “behaving like Mafia gangsters” trying to collect “rewards by threats and lies” from sub-postmasters.
Stephen Bradshaw, a senior Post Office worker, was accused of bullying branch managers as they launched investigations into claims money was missing from accounts.
The criminal cases were based on evidence obtained from the faulty Horizon IT system and led to one of Britain’s worst ever miscarriages of justice.
Giving evidence to the public inquiry into the scandal on Thursday, Mr Bradshaw continued to insist his investigations were “professional” and claimed problems with Horizon were never passed on to investigators like himself.
Mr Bradshaw was involved in a criminal investigation into nine sub-postmasters, including Lisa Brennan, a former teller at a post office in Huyton, near Liverpool, who was wrongly accused of stealing £3,000 in 2003.
Mr Bradshaw was also accused by Merseyside assistant manager Rita Threlfall of asking him the color of his eyes and what jewelery he was wearing, before saying during the interview: “Good, so we have a description of you when they come.” Under caution in August 2010.
Another sub-postmaster, Jacqueline McDonald, claimed she was “bullied” by Mr Bradshaw during the investigation into the alleged £50,000 shortfall.
Responding to Ms McDonald’s allegations in her statement, the witness said: “I deny the allegation that I am a liar.
“I also deny the allegation that Jacqueline McDonald was bullied, from the moment we arrived the inspector was already on site, interviews with Mr McDonald were (held) first, the reason for our attendance was explained, Mr and Mrs McDonald were kept informed as the day progressed.”
The investigator added: “Ms Jacqueline McDonald is also wrong to say that Post Office inspectors acted like mafia gangsters seeking to reap their rewards through threats and lies.”
Making a comment when he told Ms Brennan in an interview that she should “get up earlier”, Mr Bradshaw said: “I’m sorry if you don’t like that kind of terminology, it wasn’t meant to hurt her.”
Inquiry barrister Julian Blake highlighted Mr Bradshaw’s interview with Ms McDonald, in which he accused her of “telling a load of lies”.
He compared the language to a “1970s television detective show” but Mr Bradshaw defended his behavior, saying the interview was not intended to be “nice”.
He added that Ms McDonald’s legal team at the hearing did not claim the meeting was “oppressive or offensive”.
Mr Bradshaw, who has been a Post Office employee since 1978, said he was “not technically minded” and insisted he was “not told” of problems with the Horizon IT system.
He also insisted there were “no concerns” about the quality of their investigation.
“It doesn’t seem like we are being given any top-down information about bugs and defects,” he said. “The post office board did not step down from Fujitsu to our level as director of investigations.
“At the time, I had no reason to suspect there was anything wrong with the Horizon system because we weren’t told.”
Mr Bradshaw was shown an email he sent to a colleague in 2010 containing links to the first news stories about the scandal, but he again insisted: “I have not been notified of any problems with the Horizon system.”
In his witness statement Mr Bradshaw said of each of the nine criminal investigations in which he was involved: “There were no concerns, the investigation was conducted professionally at all times.”
Before beginning his statement, Mr Bradshaw was warned that he had the right not to incriminate himself in answering questions.
He told the Inquiry that he now “regrets” signing witness statements regarding the criminal proceedings, which were actually prepared by lawyers and insisted there were no problems with the Horizon system.
He joined the investigation team in 2000 and has been with the Post Office for the last 45 years.
Former Post Office inspectors told the Inquiry that bonuses were offered for successful investigations and money was seized from sub-postmasters.
Mr Bradshaw told today’s hearing that he had received bonuses but denied they were linked to the number of cases he had undertaken.
In a 2010 self-evaluation, he told bosses that he personally intervened in Ms McDonald’s criminal case when the integrity of the Horizon system was being questioned.
“I objected to counsel’s advice and persuaded him that a hearing would be necessary because the defendant’s stated reason (Horizon integrity) would have a wider impact on the business if the case did not proceed.” He wrote.
In evidence today, Mr Bradshaw described the self-assessment as “a fancy way of explaining what happened that day”.
“As far as I can remember, Horizon was not proven to be that flawed at the time,” he said. “I wouldn’t write it like that right now, but this is a self-assessment the way a business wants it done.”
Mr Bradshaw’s questioning came a day after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced new legislation designed to exonerate Post Office branch managers found guilty in the Horizon IT scandal.
He told the House of Commons: “This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history” and pledged to pay £1bn to affected sub-postmasters and their families.
The government has already paid out nearly £138 million to more than 2,700 claimants under three Post Office compensation schemes.
“The lives and reputations of people who have worked so hard to serve their communities have been destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own,” Mr Sunak said. “Victims must receive justice and compensation.”
In 2019, a High Court judge ruled that the Horizon IT system contained “errors, errors and defects” and that there was a “material risk” that deficiencies in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
The Public Inquiry, led by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, was first established in September 2020 and held hearings in 2022 into the human impact on sub-postmasters investigated and prosecuted by the Post Office. But public and media interest in the scandal was further increased by ITV’s drama Mr Bates v The Post Office.
Justice Minister Alex Chalk admitted on Thursday morning that the scandal would cost taxpayers “a fortune” and said Fujitsu, which designed the Horizon system, “must face the consequences” if found at fault in the Inquiry.
Employees and former employees of Fujitsu will give evidence to the Inquiry next week.