00:00 Mr. Bates, perhaps I could come to you first. Could you tell us, since you've
00:05 given evidence to this committee before, is the redress getting faster and fairer?
00:12 Well, speaking personally of my claim, I can say no. No? No. After everything you've
00:19 been through? Yeah, nothing, it's still, as far as I know, it's still sat there. We've
00:24 just, we've refused it and that's it. That's where the process is in my case.
00:28 It's very disappointing and this has been going for years, as you well know, and I can't
00:34 see any end to it. Everyone keeps referring to the scheme, understandably, as a compensation
00:40 scheme, but it's not. It's financial redress. This is money these people are actually owed
00:46 and they've been owed it for years. Compensation sounds like it's something that benefits at
00:51 the whim of government and all the rest of it. Let's get it right and let's really push
00:55 forward on that aspect of it. They're putting obstacles in the way, treating
01:00 with caution and suspicion, ultimately, willing to say the right things to the media, but
01:05 behind the closed doors when it comes to doing the paperwork, the experience is very different.
01:09 Is that fair, Mr Bates? Yeah, take them out of the system. Send someone
01:12 in to do the job for them. Get rid of post office out of any of these schemes. That's
01:17 the best thing you could do. Whilst you're not with the post office now,
01:21 I assume you've got friends and former colleagues who still work with the post office and you
01:26 yourself still have a relationship with the post office as you go through this process.
01:32 In your view, has the culture of the post office changed since you were there?
01:38 No. Has at any time the arrival of a new chairman
01:44 or a chief executive led you to think, "Ah, there might be somebody new in charge. That
01:49 may change things." Perhaps Mr Bates, given your experience in the matter.
01:54 I think over the years I've been dealing with post office, the culture has always been post
01:58 office. It hasn't changed. It's been the same for donkey's years. It will not change and
02:04 you cannot change it. My personal view about post office is it's a dead duck and it has
02:10 been for years and it's going to be a money pit for the taxpayer for years to come. You
02:14 should sell it to someone like Amazon for a pound, get really good contracts for all
02:19 the serving sub-postmasters and within a few years you'll have one of the best networks
02:25 around.
02:26 A very radical proposal and not one I'm sure that many of our constituents would be comfortable
02:32 with but interesting that it comes from you.
02:34 One of the big problems I've found with this, or I'm starting to find, is those who are
02:38 making the decisions about the actual claims or what claims are going to be made do not
02:44 meet the victims face to face and discuss it with them. It's all done from an ivory
02:50 tower from someone else and ticking a box and that's it. Their job's done and out of
02:55 the way.
02:56 Does that lead to a lack of understanding of the position that you and your colleagues
02:58 face?
02:59 Yeah it is and I can explain that perhaps in a way hopefully you'll understand. When
03:05 we were campaigning for all of this over the years and people were saying, you know, I've
03:09 tried to take this up with my MP and all the rest of it and the problems I'm having, I'd
03:14 say to them, well look, don't just write them a letter, don't just phone them, make an appointment,
03:18 go and see them, tell them face to face what's gone on. And I've heard from many people that
03:24 what was meant to be a 15 or 20 minute surgery session has turned into a couple of hours
03:30 because they've been so concerned about what they've heard face to face and I think that
03:36 makes a big difference.
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