Mr Bates Vs The Post Office

guitars4you

TTony said:

To change sports ...

"Game, Set & Match" to Mr Beer.

(Watch the lead up to 16:29).

But 2 more days to go - she must be bricking herself about that prospect - But good to watch a master at work - Conducting the whole process and waiting to for the grand finale 

Jonathangus

Beer-battered, and ready for the deep-fryer.

Woodandwires

It’s fascinating watching Mr. Beer tee her up, lead her down a line, agree a lie, and then completely f#@k her over. The Chairman at the end delivered in a very civilised manner the final f#@k off tablet.

crosstownvamp

She comes over as an over promoted middle manager just there as an emollient stuffed shirt.  Either way she's appallingly incompetent.

Offset

Jonathangus said:

Beer-battered, and ready for the deep-fryer.

Oven-ready? :-)

fretmeister

Excellent reporting for those who haven't been able to watch:

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/post-office-live-paula-vennells-did-not-know-her-organisation-prosecuted-people/5119795.article

JezWynd

There's a pattern to Vennells' testimony...

"I don't know, I wasn't involved in the conversation,"

Vennells fumbles in response, but says again that she can't recall ever saying that.

"No, I didn't know about this," Vennells says.

“I don't recall being aware of that," Vennells replies.

She responds that she didn't know the substance of the advice until she read it in preparation for the Post Office inquiry.

"I don't think I knew that," replies Vennells. She says that there was a lot consideration going on about what should and shouldn't happen that she was not in the loop on.

Vennells adds that she doesn't recall going through the details of the proposals

The conversation around her testimony seems to be 'was she ignorant or was she lying'.

Why not both?

S56035

I've got it on in the background so not been paying full attention BUT.........I don't think I've ever seen such a senior businessperson talk so badly in public.  She really must have been shit at her job.

TTony

S56035 said:

.I don't think I've ever seen such a senior businessperson talk so badly in public.  

Actually, I think she's being extremely calm and controlled, measured and giving pretty clear and direct replies to the questions.

Unfortunately ....

S56035 said:

 She really must have been shit at her job.

.... most of her replies have to be variations of "I don't remember being aware of that at the time [pause for a quick cry]" to avoid self-incrimination.

Litterick

She might have been the Bishop of London, if it weren't for that pesky Private Eye.

guitars4you

Litterick said:

She might have been the Bishop of London, if it weren't for that pesky Private Eye.

The way Mr Beer is taking her to task, any thought of bashing the bishop doesn't sit easy with me - Especially when that thought is Paula

Gassage

I've never known anyone vacillate between 'not having recollection' if it harms her and knowing something inside out if it helps her quite as much as her.

DefaultM

They’ve just been playing bits on radio 2 and saying with the amount of crying she’s done, do people feel sorry for her now?
Whats to feel sorry for? She's probably been practicing it in front of a mirror for weeks. People have had their lives taken away over something they didn’t do at a bullshit job they probably hated going to. 

guitars4you

Gassage said:

I've never known anyone vacillate between 'not having recollection' if it harms her and knowing something inside out if it helps her quite as much as her.

Exactly - I bet that wasn't true of her character in appropriate board room meetings and those strategy meetings with  key staff  within the PO - Otherwise she'd have looked seriously out of her depth not recalling anything

TTony

The only thing she seems any good at is remembering what to forget.

In her testimony she's effectively admitted that the job was beyond her (I relied on the Ops people, the lawyers, the IT team, the external experts, I didn't question anything), that she was staggeringly ignorant of basic corporate governance ("first time I'd seen an audit report, I didn't know what to do with it") and has repeatedly demonstrated emotional weakness (oh, that's a hard question, excuse me while I have a little cry).

On her watch, many thousands of individual lives (postmasters, staff and families) have been trashed, the reputation and standing of the Post Office brand has been wrecked, and the business effectively sold off to a side counter of the local supermarket, losing community social hubs across the country that had been developed over centuries.


I can't conceive of an appropriate punishment.

DefaultM

TTony said:

I can't conceive of an appropriate punishment.

Well that’s alright because odds on she won’t be getting one. 

guitars4you

DefaultM said:

TTony said:

I can't conceive of an appropriate punishment.

Well that’s alright because odds on she won’t be getting one. 

I’d give her 12 months working on the dustbins - min wage and has to live in a ‘Coronation St’ style house for this period - humiliate her

Haych

The tears are probably genuine, but are triggered by the realisation about how screwed she is.

Woodandwires

People like her don’t do prison time, F#@k sake the Church was going to make her a bishop, she got a CBE, granted now removed. The establishment will look after her, as they do Lady Mone etc.

Gassage

Punctilious.

What an outstanding word.