Contributions
2,186 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentI refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave a moment ago.27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentI thank my hon. Friend for his work in this area. There are clearly wider lessons to be learned from this, as well as the direct lessons about who knew what in the Post Office. It…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentAs I said earlier, there have been no private prosecutions in this area for a number of years, but clearly there are lessons that need to be learned. That will be addressed in the…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentI pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her work. Christopher Head, one of the youngest sub-postmasters involved in this situation, has been through years of distress, so I can…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentI thank the right hon. Lady for her question and ask her to forgive me for ascribing Janet Skinner to be the constituent of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentMy hon. Friend raises some interesting points, and we certainly need to reflect on the wider implications of the situation. Clearly, the independent inquiry is addressing the…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentNo, indeed. We want to make sure that we can get these answers quickly for sub-postmasters who have already waited up to 20 years for a sense of justice. As I have said, statutory…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentI thank my hon. Friend for her question. I know that she is a champion for community services in her area. That is what the Post Office does—not only is it a business, but it adds…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentMy hon. Friend is right to champion this. The Post Office, first, needs to engage with all the appellants to make sure that they are compensated fairly. It is that fair…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentThis inquiry is getting the co-operation of all those people participating and involved. If that changes, clearly, our advice and view will change, because I agree with the right…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentMy hon. Friend is right. We have the likes of Ian Ashworth across the country offering social value. People will be interested and want to act as postmasters only if they are…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentBecause the evidence is coming forward. There is no point in compelling something that is already coming forward. Having said that, if that changes, our advice and our thoughts…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentIndeed, it is important that the Post Office engages with all the appellants who have had their convictions quashed. As we are getting those answers, we will work to ensure that…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentThere are universal access provisions for the Post Office. Although, yes, we are giving them a network waiver because of the effect of covid at the moment, we will make sure that…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentWinslow, Princes Risborough and Buckingham are just like many villages and towns across the country, where banks are starting to reduce their branch numbers. I have talked about…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentWhat I can confirm is that the inquiry will look into the Post Office’s approach and the “who did what” in its approach to the sub-postmasters, because clearly that heavy-handed…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentMy hon. Friend has been consistent in his campaigning in this area, and what I can say is that we will be ensuring that the Post Office provides fair, consistent and speedy…27 Apr 2021HANSARDFire and RehireIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Murray. I congratulate the hon. Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) on securing the debate, her first here in Westminster Hall,…27 Apr 2021HANSARDFire and RehireI will come to fire and rehire. In individual company disputes, in the first instance it should always be ensured that the company and employers can have conversations and…27 Apr 2021HANSARDFire and RehireWhat I will say at the moment is that we are fully considering that, and we will continue discussion and debate on it, because it is important that that evidence base forms part…27 Apr 2021