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A former chair of the Post Office has told the Horizon IT scandal inquiry that in-house lawyers advised him against sharing a report he commissioned on the accounting system.
Tim Parker, who held the role for almost seven years from October 2015, said he regretted taking the advice the findings of the review by Jonathan Swift in 2016 were legally privileged.
He said he could not recall whether it was received orally or in writing from Jane MacLeod – general counsel at the Post Office.
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Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC recalled Ms MacLeod had stated, in her own witness statement, that she gave a briefing to the board on the findings and the report was available to members on request.
But the inquiry heard that none of the conclusions were shared with the Post Office board or the government, let alone lawyers for the hundreds of sub-postmasters who, since 1999, had already been convicted of theft and fraud related to their use of Horizon.
Mr Parker said he believed the lawyers would take the findings forward and the report would later be shared with some possible redactions.
The Swift review called into question the strength of the evidence the Post Office had to secure convictions.
Each has since been overturned but there remains frustration among victims over the speed of the compensation processes despite government intervention.
Mr Parker, under questioning from Mr Beer, dismissed any suggestion he was happy to bury the…
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