Post Office investigator denies being like 'Mafia gangster' as staff in tears

11 January 2024 , 18:32

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Stephen Bradshaw had grilled by the Post Office public inquiry today (Image: Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

A Post Office investigator who helped to wrongfully convict innocent postmasters has denied he and colleagues acted like "Mafia gangsters looking to collect their bounty".

Stephen Bradshaw, who has worked for the organisation since 1978, was grilled by the public Inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal after being involved in the investigation of nine Post Office workers. More than 900 workers were convicted for theft and fraud between 1999 and 2015 after a flawed IT system made it look like they were swindling money.

The Government was forced to intervene to speed up the process to exonerate innocent postmasters after a massive public backlash in the wake of ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office'. In a gruelling day of evidence, Mr Bradshaw was confronted with claims of bullying and forced to deny his team acted like "Mafia gangsters" towards victims.

The ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office' triggered a public outcry over the wrongful convictions of hundreds of innocent postmasters

Former subpostmistress Shazia Saddiq accused Mr Bradshaw of making "intimidating" phone calls in extracts of evidence read to the Inquiry, including one where "he called me a b**** which I found extremely distressing". Mr Bradshaw said this was "completely untrue" and denied "hounding" her. He rejected claims he had behaved unprofessionally and denied there was a culture of intimidation within the Post Office investigation team.

Ms Saddiq, 40, ran three Post Office branches in Newcastle between 2009 and 2016 before she was sacked. Speaking outside the Inquiry, she said she fled with her children "like refugees in the night" after her community turned on her. "We had been assaulted with eggs and flour in Newcastle because they thought I was a thief," she said.

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Mr Bradshaw was also accused of forcing a disabled postmistress to use a "tiny parcel lift" when she took part in a police-style interview in August 2010. Rita Threlfall, who managed a branch in Liverpool, said she was "still shaken" by the experience, which left her with "crippling anxiety and depression" which "arises in large part from the way in which (Mr Bradshaw) treated her". Mr Bradshaw replied: "I can only keep repeating that it is not a small parcel lift. It is wheelchair accessible."

The Inquiry also heard that sub postmistresses Angela Sefton and Anne Nield were “too terrified” to report a £34,000 shortfall that they couldn't explain from their branch in Liverpool. The women, whose convictions were overturned in 2021, said they were left in tears when two auditors and two investigators including Mr Bradshaw visited the branch. He told the Inquiry: "They didn't seem that upset".

Mr Bradshaw was told his language in an interview sounded like a "1970s television detective show" by counsel to the inquiry Julian Blake. Mr Blake read him an exchange with another postmistress Jacqueline McDonald, where he ranted: "You have told me a pack of lies."

Ms McDonald was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2011 for a shortfall of nearly £100,000 but her conviction was overturned. In his witness statement, Mr Bradshaw said: "I refute the allegation that I am a liar. I also refute the claim that Jacqueline McDonald was bullied, from the moment we arrived, the auditor was already on site, conversations were initially (held) with Mr McDonald, the reason for our attendance was explained, Mr and Mrs McDonald were kept updated as the day progressed."

The investigator added: "Ms Jacqueline McDonald is also incorrect in stating Post Office investigators behaved like Mafia gangsters looking to collect their bounty with the threats and lies."

Christopher Jacobs, representing 156 postmasters, said 49 of his clients were told "that they were the only one" with a problem with shortfalls, while 61 of them said that they were told they could be prosecuted or go to prison. Asked if this was "typical" behaviour, Mr Bradshaw said it "was completely" wrong and he "categorically" did not tell people they were the only one.

Mr Bradshaw told the Inquiry he was not "technically minded" and said he was not told whether there were faults in the Horizon IT system.

It comes as a petition to award campaign hero Alan Bates a CBE for his decades-long fight for justice racked up more than 20,000 signatures. The chief executives of Post Office and Fujitsu are due to be questioned by MPs next week as public anger over the scandal continues to mount.

Lizzy Buchan