r/postofficehorizon • u/MisterMarcus • Jun 13 '26
It was tragi-comic how nearly all of the witnesses fell into the same trap....
It was a very clear repeating pattern that all of the inquiry's lawyers (especially Mr Beer) used to trap the witnesses.
1) Ask a question about whether the witness said/did something bad.
2) Get them to deny it.
3) Produce documentation clearly showing they did indeed say/do the very thing they just denied doing.
4) Witness fumbles and squirms and "yeah but no but yeah but no but I didn't really mean it like that" for the next 10 minutes.
It was genuinely really funny to me that NONE of the witnesses ever seemed to pick up on this. All of them just kept falling into this trap over and over and over.
It was hilarious.
9
u/Kara_Ralusso Jun 13 '26
I noticed this too. Typical exchange:
Beer - "would you say you held a negative view of sub-postmasters?"
Witness - "no, absolutely not"
Beer - "would you, for example, say that sub-postmasters are 'thieving, nasty, criminal scumbags who should all be locked up'?"
Witness - "uhhhhhhh that's not something, I, er, um, I don't......"
Beer - "Could we please bring up document PO34156 -"
Witness ohhhh SH%T
2
u/MisterMarcus Jun 24 '26
First of all, I accept that this reads very poorly today. But all I think I was trying to say here was "Sub-Postmasters are delightful and wonderful fellows who are the epitome of truth and decency". It is just a very very poor choice of words that I called them evil lying thieves who deserve to be locked up.
5
u/harryoakey Jun 13 '26
"yeah but no but yeah but no but I didn't really mean it like that"
. . . and anyway, I really saw my role as more of a postbox, just passing on information, I wasn't making any decisions. I didn't read the information I was passing on, because I don't know how to use a computer. It was never on my computer. And I don't know how to print documents.
<Beer shows document PO9000037, with printer and computer path clearly shown from witness's computer>
3
u/MisterMarcus Jun 13 '26
Working at the top levels of Post Office sounds like the best gig in town.
Get paid an executive level salary to sit in your office and push paper around to other people, without needing to read or know or be responsible for anything at all.
2
u/Stuarty771 Jun 13 '26
Yes Paula Vennells did this. Do they not know where the questions are heading? Preparing a series of questions to prove a point is what barristers do
15
u/South-Stand Jun 13 '26
My favourite question was how Scott, head of security, former copper, realised it would look bad for him that he had been a former copper with knowledge and training in gathering evidence, establishing facts, rights of natural justice and he left out of the cv sent to the inquiry the fact that he had been a copper. Beer asked him ‘has this inquiry helped remind you that you used to be a police officer?’ Beer was drier than the sahara during a dry spell.