A useful update to The Great Post Office Scandal bringing the story up to date following both the public enquiry and the results of the “Mr. Bates Vs the Post Office” TV show.
This doesn’t concentrate over-much on the individual stories, this is better done in the book above, so it does allow a broader brush to be used looking at all aspects of the scandal. That’s not to demean or belittle the human stories, which are indeed terrible, but they have been well covered elsewhere and it means that this book can give a wider perspective. In particular I liked the final chapter which considered the scandal with the broader context of what happened and how individuals, our democratic system, courts, journalism and TV did eventually combine to see at least some justice done, albeit after a very long battle.
I was also interested to hear more about the role of the Fujitsu IT specialist, Gareth Jenkins, a passing acquaintance (the Bracknell Office Block that we both worked in for a time is illustrated on the back cover). His eagerness in defending the Horizon system (and his employers) made him an easy target for manipulation, and once on that slippery slope became a key witness - right up to the point where his blanket denials of any problems (even though they weren’t neccessarily his own words) became a liabilty and the revelation of bugs and failures compromised him as a witness, making prosecutions that relied on his testimony unsafe. No wonder the Post Office tried to sweep him (and much else) under the carpet.
Quite a rage-inducing read but that excellent final chapter does at least give you some hope for a better future and that lessons can genuinely be learned. Worth a read, even if you have already read the previously published book.