A former Post Office investigator from Perth has been rebuked at the Horizon inquiry over his two-page witness statement and failure to read relevant documents ahead of his appearance.
Raymond Grant apologised to Jason Beer KC – counsel for The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – for the shortness of his statement which he blamed on work commitments with the Salvation Army over Christmas.
He also said trying to buy a house limited the time he was able to devote to reading 400-odd pages of documents relating to his time as a senior investigation manager.
Mr Grant then revealed he was forced to give evidence after a visit from Sheriff Officers under Section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005.
‘Clash of priorities’
The former postman, who worked for Royal Mail and Post Office for nearly three decades, said: “I received the papers on December 5 last year.
“My current role is working in a homeless centre for a Christian organisation which has 30 residents in it.
“I’m the programme manager in that unit. My job is to ensure these residents get the level of respect and dignity they deserve.
“Part of the role is to ensure at that time of the year there is a lot of activities going on – carol services, Christmas dinners…various other bits and pieces.
“We were five members of staff short and I was working in the region of 10 or 11-hour days.
“I was going home, walking my dog and then at the same time I was in the process of purchasing a property, viewing a property and dealing with conveyancing issues as I’d been asked to vacate the home I was living by December 31.
“I was dealing with mortgage arrangements. There was a clear clash of priorities as far as I was concerned.
“I chose my current job as my most important as it directly affect 20 staff and 30 homeless residents
“I fully understand my obligations to this inquiry. But my time was limited.
“Sheriff Officers appeared at my door and issued me with Section 21 notice – I had to comply and be here today.
“My first day off was January 1 after a 10-hour nightshift. That’s when I drafted this minimum statement to comply with the Section 21 order.
“I apologise to the court.”
Mr Beer replied: “Let’s see if we can improve on it today now that carol services and dog walking are out the way.”
‘I can see where you’re coming from’
The Horizon scandal has been brought to a global audience this year as a result of the hit ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
More than 700 UK sub-postmasters who used the Fujitsu machines were prosecuted for theft and false accounting between 2000 and 2014.
In a document signed off by Mr Grant in April 2002 – relating to an alleged loss of £52,000 at a Post Office in Edinburgh – he expresses concern about IT helpdesk staff telling sub-postmasters the Horizon system was faulty.
He told the inquiry: “This is now 20-odd years on. I have got very little recollection of this.
“But it would be a concern at that time. I don’t know when Raeburn Place got their equipment installed but it that was 2001 [when the Horizon system was still being rolled out], it would tie in with that.”
Mr Beer then asked: “Why would that be a concern to the Post Office security department?”
The Perth resident replied: “It brings the integrity of the Horizon system into question at a very early stage of its inception.”
The KC said: “It reads, do you agree, that the problem isn’t there might be glitches – but the problem is that someone’s saying there might be glitches in the system.”
Mr Grant responded: “Yeah I can see where you’re coming from.”
Conviction quashed
He investigated William Quarm, who was convicted in 2010 of stealing from his Post Office branch in North Uist, Scotland and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Mr Quarm died two years later at the age of 69 and his conviction was successfully quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh last year.
Asked if he thought Mr Quarm “was still guilty of the crime of embezzlement” at the time of his witness statement, Mr Grant said: “Yes, I did.”
He added: “I’ve subsequently been advised that the verdict has been reversed, so he is now not guilty of the offence.”
He was then quizzed on his personal opinion of the original verdict now.
Mr Grant, who has no formal legal qualifications, continued: “In my mind I still think that Mr Quarm had a role to play in the loss of the money.”
Pressed to answer if he thought he is still guilty of the crime, he added: “Yes I do.”
Asked if that is despite the High Court overturning the conviction, Mr Grant, who was made redundant from his investigator role in 2009, replied: “Yes.”
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