Category: postal service

Service of documents – post and deemed service – Nearly Legal

Posted January 20th, 2025 in appeals, housing, interpretation, landlord & tenant, news, notification, postal service, service by tracey

‘D’Aubigny v Khan & Anor (2025) EWCA Civ 11. This is the Court of Appeal judgment. The central issue was whether service by post of a gas safety certificate, EPC and How to Rent Guide was deemed service under i) Section 7 Interpretation Act 1978, ii) the tenancy agreement, or iii) otherwise. The circumstances were that the tenant denied receipt of the documents, such that a subsequent section 21 notice, which was received, was invalid.’

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Nearly Legal, 19th January 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Post Office scandal “shows that privilege needs urgent reform” – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2025 in disclosure, legal profession, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, privilege by tracey

‘The Post Office inquiry shows that legal professional privilege (LPP) presents “significant problems of principle and practice” and needs urgent reform, leading academics have argued.’

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Legal Futures, 20th January 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Slapps used to silence whistleblowers should be outlawed, says group of MPs – The Guardian

Posted November 22nd, 2024 in defamation, disclosure, employment, freedom of expression, media, news, postal service, public interest, whistleblowers by sally

‘Excessive legal threats used to silence those who tried to expose the Post Office Horizon scandal and allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed should be outlawed, a cross-party group of MPs have said.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Post Office explores taking branch owner-operators to court again – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2024 in civil justice, computer programs, fraud, inquiries, news, postal service by tracey

‘The Post Office has recently explored resuming the practice of taking branch owner-operators to court, as mounting losses from shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets hit £12m a year. During the Horizon IT scandal more than 900 operators were wrongly prosecuted over discrepancies caused by the faulty accounting software, many of them brought privately by the Post Office, a practice it stopped in 2015 and has promised not to restart. However, the Post Office continued to use the court system for the civil recovery of losses from branches until 2018.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Postmaster jailed for wife’s murder seeks appeal – BBC News

Posted October 3rd, 2024 in appeals, domestic violence, inquiries, married persons, murder, news, postal service by tracey

‘A former sub-postmaster serving life in prison for murdering his wife is seeking a fresh appeal of his conviction, arguing the Post Office Inquiry has shed new light on his case.’

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BBC News, 3rd October 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Take Post Office compensation scheme away from lawyers, say experts – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 16th, 2024 in compensation, computer programs, legal profession, legal representation, news, ombudsmen, postal service, theft by tracey

‘The adversarial nature of the compensation scheme for victims of the Post Office scandal is preventing them securing timely redress.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th September 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Revealed: Rachel Reeves’s huge £47bn compensation bill for historical injustice, cover-up and negligence – The Independent

Posted August 12th, 2024 in blood products, budgets, compensation, deportation, HIV, miscarriage of justice, negligence, news, postal service by tracey

‘The efforts of the chancellor Rachel Reeves to get control of Britain’s finances are being hampered by a massive £47bn bill in outstanding compensation claims which could balloon even further, The Independent can reveal. Analysis of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) showed £84bn has been pledged by previous governments, with 12 compensation schemes for injustice, cover-ups and negligence.’

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The Independent, 11th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Time to reset legal regulation and ethics, says consumer panel head – Legal Futures

Posted July 22nd, 2024 in continuing professional development, inquiries, legal profession, legal services, news, postal service by sally

‘The new Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, needs to recognise the need for an overhaul of the legal regulatory regime, the new chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd July 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Post Office Horizon scandal and the role of prosecutors – Mills & Reeve

Posted June 28th, 2024 in chambers articles, computer programs, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, prosecutions, theft by sally

‘Largely thanks to the prime-time ITV dramatization, the Post Office Horizon scandal has brought to light the serious shortcomings in the way the Post Office handled the private prosecution of sub-postmasters. Whilst this has shocked the nation, unfortunately the actions of the Post Office in its role as prosecutor comes as no surprise for those with experience of public prosecutors.’

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Mills & Reeve, 26th June 2024

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Royal Mail owner faces £900m class action claim for ‘abusing dominant position’ – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2024 in class actions, competition, damages, news, postal service by michael

‘International Distribution Services (IDS) has been served with an £878m action by a newly formed company that said it represents an estimated 290,000 customers who claim they were overcharged as a result of Royal Mail’s behaviour.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Stephen Tierney: The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024: Necessary remedy or unwarranted interference with judicial independence? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted June 10th, 2024 in bills, computer programs, constitutional law, courts, criminal justice, fraud, judiciary, miscarriage of justice, news, parliament, postal service by tracey

‘For the first time, by way of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act (“the Act”), Parliament has legislated to quash criminal convictions. In this post I will argue that, no matter how understandable, indeed laudable, the intention behind this legislation, in its haste to offer a speedy and comprehensive correction to mass injustice, Parliament has crossed a constitutional line and ventured into territory that is properly the preserve of the courts.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association , 3rd June 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Post Office scandal: Police to deploy 80 detectives for criminal inquiry – The Guardian

Posted May 28th, 2024 in computer programs, Crown Prosecution Service, false accounting, news, perjury, perverting the course of justice, police, postal service, prosecutions, theft by tracey

‘Police are planning to deploy 80 detectives for their criminal inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the Guardian has learned, but victims will face a long wait to discover if charges will follow.’

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The Guardian, 27th May 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

What laws can the Conservative government pass before the general election? – The Independent

Posted May 24th, 2024 in bills, blood products, compensation, consumer protection, criminal justice, elections, government departments, miscarriage of justice, news, parliament, political parties, postal service, smoking, terrorism, victims by sally

‘The Conservatives and Labour have held talks to work out what outstanding legislation can be rushed through parliament to become law before the Commons closes for the general election.’

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The Independent, 23rd May 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Post Office: Disclosure Lessons from a National Scandal – Guildhall Chambers

Posted April 24th, 2024 in appeals, chambers articles, compensation, computer programs, damages, disclosure, fraud, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, prosecutions, theft by sally

‘An estimated 736 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 2000 and 2014, Horizon software having been first introduced in 1999, and responsibility for prosecutions, in all but exceptional cases, being handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2014. Many of those prosecuted were imprisoned, 4 committed suicide and all faced the stigma and stress of criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeal in Hamilton v Post Office Limited [2021] EWCA Crim 577 quashed 39 convictions (of the 42 appellants) on the basis that there had been an abuse of process on two grounds: that a fair trial was impossible and that it was an affront to public conscience for the appellants to have faced prosecution. This judgment followed the Post Office Group Litigation in the High Court before Fraser J known as Bates and Others v The Post Office Limited [2019] EWHC 3408.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 11th March 2024

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

Post office operator wrongly jailed while pregnant rejects executive’s apology – The Guardian

Posted April 12th, 2024 in appeals, computer programs, electronic mail, fraud, imprisonment, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, pregnancy, sentencing, theft, women by sally

‘A post office operator who was wrongly prosecuted while pregnant has rejected a Post Office executive’s apology for having sent an email celebrating her conviction as “brilliant news”.’

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The Guardian, 11th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

What is the Post Office Horizon bill and why is it controversial? – The Guardian

Posted March 14th, 2024 in bills, compensation, false accounting, fraud, miscarriage of justice, news, parliament, postal service, theft by sally

‘The Post Office (Horizon system) offences bill, published on Wednesday, will quash the convictions of people resulting from the scandal, which involved hundreds being wrongly prosecuted on the basis of a faulty IT system. Here the Guardian explains the thinking behind the bill and why it is controversial.’

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The Guardian, 13th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Post Office scandal victims convictions to be quashed – BBC News

Posted March 13th, 2024 in compensation, computer programs, criminal justice, criminal records, fraud, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, theft, victims by sally

‘A new law will be introduced on Wednesday to clear the names of the hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted in the Post Office scandal.’

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BBC News, 13th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Post Office scandal victim feels ‘survivor’s guilt’ after compensation – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2024 in compensation, computer programs, debts, fraud, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, theft by sally

‘Former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton says she feels “survivor’s guilt” after settling with the Post Office over the Horizon IT scandal for an undisclosed sum.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Royal Mail sued by delivery drivers in ‘Uber-style’ gig economy legal case – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2024 in minimum wage, news, postal service, self-employment, sick leave by tracey

‘Royal Mail is being sued for classifying delivery drivers as self-employed, enabling it to avoid paying sick pay and the minimum wage, in a case that mirrors a landmark gig economy legal ruling against Uber.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ministers to press ahead with legislation to exonerate Post Office Horizon victims – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2024 in bills, computer programs, courts, criminal justice, government departments, judiciary, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, rule of law, theft by michael

‘Ministers have vowed to press ahead with legislation to automatically overturn convictions related to the Post Office Horizon scandal by the end of July.’

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com