The Standard View: Post Office Horizon scandal — now shame the guilty

The Post Office scandal which devastated the lives of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses has revealed quite a lot about the way the establishment operates. Paula Vennells, the former Post Office boss who presided over the miscarriage of justice, has handed back her CBE. It leaves unanswered the question of why she got it in the first place — not only on account of the Horizon IT scandal but the continuing demoralisation of a once great institution on her watch.

Campaigners’ attention has now shifted to the £3 million in performance-related bonuses she received for her work. What performance did it reward? As well as the hounding of the sub-postmasters, plainly customer satisfaction did not enter the equation. The fact that this unimpressive woman could gain as a matter of routine bonuses and honours which she did not merit says an awful lot about our corporate culture. She should already have handed back those bonuses and much of her excessive pay to the compensation scheme for the victims — and since she lacks that decency, should be obliged to do so now.

Then there is Fujitsu, the company whose IT system caused so much human misery and which continues to operate systems across government. It too should be contributing to the compensation scheme; arguably the greater part. Campaigners are to focus on exploiting the Japanese concept of shame (including executives taking responsibility for companies’ failures) to oblige Fujitsu to do the right thing.

In Britain the culture of shame is sadly wanting; far fewer ministers resign for failure than used to be the case. It was the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey who had ministerial responsibility for the Post Office and who continues to protest that he was lied to. But he should take responsibility for his failure to investigate the claims of sub-postmasters like Alan Bates. His refusal reflects badly on his party, which has high ambitions for the coming election.

In all this, let’s pay attention to the victims of this appalling abuse: they want individuals brought to account.

Young criminals might once have pleaded guilty at their first court hearing to gain a reduced sentence. Now the head of the Bar Council warns the proportion of guilty pleas has dropped below 60 per cent because they think delays in the system mean their case may never be heard. The backlog of cases risks undermining trust in the law.

Our guide today to dishes under £10 shows that gourmets on a budget can still eat well in London. There are bargains to be had out there: give them a try.