Dewi Lewis: Penrhyndeudraeth sub-postmaster case raised in commons by MP Liz Saville Roberts

Watch Dewi Lewis: Penrhyndeudraeth sub-postmaster case raised in commons by MP Liz Saville Roberts - Tindle News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Dewey Lewis of Penrhyn Jaydrith is a former sub-postmaster who endured four months of

00:07imprisonment and had to wear a tag for another four months for a crime he never committed.

00:13He hasn't wanted me to raise his case in the Chamber before because he said to have his

00:17hopes raised and then dashed would destroy him. Two weeks ago he got a letter, I'm glad

00:23to say, to say that his convictions were quashed. But the damage that has been done to the reputation

00:28of the post office in rural Wales is so immense now that people are no longer prepared to

00:31work in post offices. How can he assure me, and I welcome that he says that he believes

00:37the business model is no longer fit for purpose, how can we be sure that we will have strategic

00:41planning to serve those communities which were once served so well by people like Dewey

00:45Lewis?

00:46I recognise very much what she is saying. In some cases I have had personal friends

00:54of mine who were directly affected by this who, even though they obviously knew I was

00:58also their MP as well as their friend, didn't feel they were able to tell me about it because

01:03they were so concerned as to the impact of their reputation. They couldn't even tell

01:07a friend who was a Member of Parliament, even though it was something that was clearly affecting

01:11their lives to a very significant degree. I'm sure like me she's had situations where

01:17one provider of postal services in a relatively rural area obviously represent Greater Manchester

01:22as it gets out towards rural Derbyshire, where people want very much a service to continue

01:28but for various business reasons the provider is moving on. It's hard sometimes to find

01:32someone willing to take that on, not just because of this scandal but because of the

01:35business model. I can assure her that the work we are already doing is about the future,

01:41is about recognising that, is about making sure we have the people in charge who recognise

01:45that and that that has to change. It's going to be a very substantial piece of work for

01:49my Minister and I but I think it is essential because we couldn't just provide redress for

01:53this scandal without looking to the future and making sure we get this right.