Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Former Post Office minister expresses 'embarrassment' over scandal

Tolhurst also spoke of the challenges of her ministerial role and the difficulty in obtaining accurate information from the Post Office.

Former Post Office minister expresses 'embarrassment' over scandal

A FORMER Post Office minister has expressed her "embarrassment" and "utter shame" over the wrongful accusations against sub-postmasters for theft and false accounting.

Kelly Tolhurst, the former minister responsible for the Post Office from July 2018 to February 2020, on Wednesday (17) testified at the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry.


She is the first former minister to provide evidence in this phase of the public inquiry.

Tolhurst recounted how the Post Office initially assured her of the reliability of the Horizon computer system and its strong legal position against 555 sub-postmasters who had brought a case five years prior. However, in March 2019, Justice Fraser’s ruling in favour of the sub-postmasters was a "lightbulb moment" for her, reported the BBC.

From 1999 to 2013, hundreds of sub-postmasters were convicted based on flawed Horizon system evidence, marking one of Britain's largest miscarriages of justice.

In 2019, Justice Fraser condemned the IT system as significantly flawed, leading to the overturning of wrongful convictions.

In her testimony, Tolhurst described her immediate reaction as one of "embarrassment" and "utter shame" for the Post Office's reprehensible behaviour towards the sub-postmasters. She acknowledged that, in hindsight, she should have recognised the risks of the Horizon system earlier, admitting there were many things she wished she had done differently.

Tolhurst also spoke of the challenges of her ministerial role and the difficulty in obtaining accurate information from the Post Office. She expressed concerns about Tom Cooper, the government's representative on the Post Office board, suggesting he had "gone native" and lost his independent oversight.

Despite thinking it was "madness" for the Post Office to attempt to remove the judge following the first trial judgment, Tolhurst felt powerless to stop it, citing her reliance on legal advice and her position as a junior minister.

She believed the structure of the Post Office, as a government-owned limited company, restricted her authority to intervene directly.

Tolhurst denied using this as an excuse to avoid involvement, insisting she fundamentally believed she was unable to act. She felt her only significant power was the "nuclear option" of firing the Post Office chairman, though barrister Angela Patrick argued she still had leverage even without resorting to such drastic measures.

The former minister expressed sadness that sub-postmasters were dissatisfied with their settlement, which saw most compensation consumed by legal costs, though she clarified she was not involved in negotiating the settlement.

In her witness statement, Tolhurst revealed that when she learned in November 2018 that Post Office CEO Paula Vennells was stepping down, her private secretary speculated via WhatsApp that Vennells might be leaving in anticipation of the litigation’s negative outcome.

After serving at the Department of Transport, Tolhurst lost her Rochester and Strood seat in the 2024 general election.

More For You

Donald Trump

Trump announced a series of tariff increases targeting various nations, including key US allies such as the UK and the European Union.

Getty Images

Trump’s tariffs hit global markets, Starmer warns of 'economic impact'

The UK and other global economies reacted on Thursday to US president Donald Trump's newly imposed tariffs, with prime minister Keir Starmer warning of an “economic impact” from the 10 per cent levy on British exports.

Trump announced a series of tariff increases targeting various nations, including key US allies such as the UK and the European Union.

Keep ReadingShow less
India told to prepare for deadly rise in temperatures

The country can expect more heatwave days this year

India told to prepare for deadly rise in temperatures

INDIA can expect hotter-thanusual temperatures this summer with more heatwave days taking a toll on lives and livelihoods, the weather office warned.

The country is no stranger to scorching summers, but years of scientific research has found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tower Hamlets secures funding to save domestic abuse support jobs

The planned strike action was called off after the external funding was secured

Tower Hamlets secures funding to save domestic abuse support jobs

Ruby Gregory

REDUNDANCY proposals which would have seen job cuts made to a ‘crucial’ domestic abuse support service in Tower Hamlets have been called off.

Solace Women’s Aid, which planned to make cuts, confirmed last Friday (28) the redundancies were no longer going ahead, following a boost in external funding which followed a threat of strike action.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report reveals Birmingham’s doctors face racism and bullying
Absences have risen at the Queen Elizabeth and Heartlands Hospitals in Birmingham, as well as Good Hope in Sutton and Solihull Hospital

Report reveals Birmingham’s doctors face racism and bullying

Gurdip Thandi

YOUNG doctors in Birmingham hospitals face a ‘shocking’ number of incidents of bullying, racism and sexism from patients and other staff.

The Medical Academy Annual Report was presented to a University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust board meeting, which revealed the data.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former police officer arrested in Rotherham investigation

Investigators believe the earlier offences happened between 1995 and 2002 (Photo for representation: iStock)

Former police officer arrested in Rotherham investigation

A FORMER police officer has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into child sexual abuse in Rotherham, authorities revealed on Tuesday (1).

The former constable, who is in his 50s, was taken into custody on Monday (31). He is suspected of raping a teenage girl in the South Yorkshire town in 2004, according to officials.

Keep ReadingShow less