Post Office FEARED a 'Flood of Cases' from subpostmasters amid Horizon Concerns as they sought the advice of Richard Morgan KC who is questioned about the initial meeting between himself, colleagues and Post Office lawyers and General Counsel Susan Crichton at the Post Office Inquiry. Richard Morgan KC says that he has limited recollection of the meeting although discusses details of the attendance note from the meeting outlining the fears that Post Office had amid the a group litigation being launched by subpostmasters as well as a legal firm preparing dozens of claims against the Post Office in 2012. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC explains the attendance note to the Post Office Inquiry where it is stated that the Post Office are 'DAMNED if they do and DAMNED if they don't as he outlines the no-win scenario that they have painted themselves into by bringing action against subpostmasters on shaky legal ground. When discussing the prospect of an independent report in the face of a 'flood of cases' being brought by pursued subpostmasters the attendance note explains that if the expert found no issues with Horizon they would be accused of a "whitewash" and if they did find issues that the 'floodgate of legal cases' would open up. He tells the Post Office Inquiry that it is fair to advise the Post Office to not commission the report as, essentially, no good can come from it for the Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC AGGRESSIVELY Accused SPM Lee Castleton of 'making figures up' at trial as he testifies to the Post Office Inquiry. He explains multiple times in his witness statement that it was hard to prove Horizon was working but denies that the Post Office ever confirmed that they were having problems with Fujitsu Horizon. Despite this, he said that it made sense to not rely on Horizon evidence as it didn't even prove a loss had occurred - merely proving that 'a machine' had done 'a calculation' and come to a figure and that different evidence was required to prove a loss had occurred at a Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister AVOIDED Horizon for an 'easy' case he explains to the Post Office Inquiry insisting avoiding 'Horizon produced evidence' would make things more straightforward. Jason Beer KC asks about his approach to Lee Castleton's case - the case Richard Morgan KC identifies that he had involvement in that led to 'significant' action and says that it was easier to adjust the case to rely on documentation that was signed by a subpostmaster rather than the 'impossible' task of proving that Horizon errors hadn't contributed to the issues faced by subpostmasters. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister FIRMLY Disagrees with the definition of a 'Horizon produced document' definition with Jason Beer KC as they discuss the documentation from Lee Castleton's case at the Marine Drive Post Office. He disputes that Lee Castleton said the documents were inaccurate, despite his numerous logged calls to the helpline saying precisely that saying that once he signed a document produced by Horizon it 'became his document'. Richard Morgan KC attempts to explain the position that losses could be proved without Horizon produced documentation, despite the fact that some of the 'primary documentation' he references has precisely come from the Horizon system. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC answers questions from Jason Beer KC about an attendance note created at a meeting involving him and Post Office lawyers and General Counsel at the Post Office Inquiry. The attendance note suggests that the Post Office 'discuss with MPs privately' any cases that they are 'interested in' in an attempt to get to the bottom of any issues they are having with the Fujitsu Horizon system. There is also a suggestion that a 'PR exercise' is carried out to make the Post Office look good and placate subpostmasters by asking them to share their feedback on Horizon with the Post Office and any issues they have faced. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC explains he was CONCERNED that Horizon Data Could Be Tampered With and is shown a note sharing similar concerns from Stephen Dilley, his instructing solicitor at the time. The Lee Castleton case was pursued with the intention of avoiding Horizon data if at all necessary - was this due to concerns over the integrity of Horizon or due to other reasons? Richard Morgan KC explains that the lack of error notices produced means that the paper documentation and Horizon input is likely to match and equates this to accurate output being produced. But did the bugs, errors and defects now known to be in Horizon mean this was the case? #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive #StephenDilly

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC Compares Post Office Case against Lee Castleton to a 'Second Hand Car' as he testifies to the Post Office Inquiry. He tells Jason Beer KC that had he known about unaudited and unauditable remote access by Fujitsu to Horizon that he 'thinks' he would have been uncomfortable acting in the face of such adverse information for their case. He says he would have 'kicked the tyres more' to ensure that he was comfortable with the case he was brining forward on behalf of the Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC is Notified that Horizon is 'LOSING Transactions' by his instructing solicitor Stephen Dilley at Bond Pearce in evidence shown to the Post Office Inquiry. Richard Morgan KC previously asks a pertinent question to the Post Office recorded in an attendance note of a telephone conversation where he asks if there have been any other Horizon cases brought where the subpostmaster has questioned to operation of Horizon. This is another question that he doesn't recall getting an answer to and indeed no answer is ever logged. Despite this, and saying he wanted to be aware so he could perform 'risk management' on Lee Castleton's case he proceeds without an answer and the Post Office doesn't make him aware of any specific issues with Horizon. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office's Mandy Talbot tells Richard Morgan KC that Falkirk Horizon Issues confirmed on the opening day of Lee Castleton's trial were a 'bolt from a blue' in an attendance note of a telephone conversation presented at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Richard Morgan KC wants to establish if anyone else has had issues with Horizon and Lee Castleton is attempting to have admitted to evidence the testimony of other subpostmasters that are facing similar issues to himself at their branches with the Fujitsu Horizon computer system. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Claims They 'Succeeded' In Case DESPITE Horizon Issues as evidence is shown by Jason Beer KC to the Post Office Inquiry. Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC admits that whilst Horizon issues could have potentially been a factor in the case, he says that they weren't due to the fact that the pleaded defence - whilst clearly including Horizon - stated that the case could also be proven based on the records of transactions, cash and stock which Richard Morgan KC refers to as primary documents. It is noted that some of these primary documents may have originated from the Fujitsu Horizon computer system. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC Casts DOUBT on Court Transcript presented by Jason Beer KC at the Post Office Inquiry. Richard Morgan KC questions who created the transcript, prior to agreeing to review it, saying he would like to know who the author is. He's informed that Lee Castleton's solicitors have obtained the original recording and transcribed it and he says that he normally trusts 'authorised transcribers' but nethertheless agrees to look at it with Jason Beer KC. The opening statements show that Richard Morgan KC said he offered his assistance by offering to open the case for Lee Castleton. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC says that he told the Post Office their case against Lee Castleton was 'commercial MADNESS' as he testifies at the Post Office Inquiry. Richard Morgan KC says he advised the Post Office that the amount they were seeking was small and that costs would far and away outstrip them so it made no sense to pursue the case and instead they should seek to settle. He testifies that the Post Office instructed him to continue the case against Lee Castleton regardless of his advice so he continued to act for the Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Regarded Lee Castleton's Case as a 'test case' according to an attendance note of a meeting between Mandy Talbot and Richard Morgan KC shown in evidence at the Post Office Inquiry. Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC firmly disagrees with this characterisation saying that in his experience only government departments instructed test cases and they asked for specific legal arguments to be won in court to enable other cases to use similar proven arguments. Despite this he does not seem to reply or challenge Mandy Talbot's assertion that Lee Castleton's case appears to be becoming a 'test case' for the Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office INSISTS Horizon be VINDICATED by subpostmaster as Part of Pre-Trial Settlement proposed on behalf of the Post Office in a case led by Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC against Lee Castleton at Marine Drive. Whilst Richard Morgan KC insists that the motivation for the Post Office was recovery of sums owed, evidence presented at the Post Office Inquiry through meetings and emails suggests that the Post Office, and in particular Mandy Talbot, made clear on different occasions that they wanted to pursue the case to vindicate the Horizon system, prove its integrity and dissuade subpostmasters from pursing further claims against the Post Office. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC Helps the Post Office Derive 'MAXIMUM Advantage' from the judgement against Lee Castleton in evidence shown to the Post Office Inquiry. In line with the Post Office's previously stated aims, Richard Morgan KC advises how they can use the judgement to set a 'Castleton precedent' that could be referred to in future cases against subpostmasters and significantly reduce the costs involved in recovering money from them for losses alleged by the Fujitsu Horizon system. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC appears to be CAUGHT OUT By Court Transcripts from Lee Castleton's trial shown in evidence at the Post Office Inquiry by Jason Beer KC. Richard Morgan has told the Post Office Inquiry that Lee Castleton didn't raise any issues with the figures and signed off documents as true and accurate but is then shown statements by Lee Castleton during the opening where he tells the judge he did indeed question the figures at rang the Post Office helpline who assured him they would look into the losses. Further evidence is shown from the cross examination of Lee Castleton by Richard Morgan KC where he again questions the integrity of the Horizon computer system as well as the accuracy of the figures produced and explains he followed the procedures set out by informing the helpline REPEATEDLY of the discrepancies being produced. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC tells the Post Office Inquiry that he may have DAYDREAMED about a meeting with Paula Vennells, the former Post Office Chief Executive and pieced together the memory from seeing her on TV at the time when explaining part of his statement to Sam Stein, representing many subpostmasters as Core Participants. He also says that he considered Gareth Jenkins evidence as 'opinion evidence' rather than expert evidence and needed an independent expert to include what he was saying in their own statement despite Gareth Jenkins holding the official title of 'Distinguished Engineer' at Fujitsu and being a lead architect of the Horizon system. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #SamStein #CoreParticipants

Post Office Cases against subpostmasters were 'FATALLY Undermined' and 'BIASED' in the words of Core Participants as they question Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC at the Post Office Inquiry. Firstly, the advice from a fellow barrister made in 2013 is put to Richard Morgan that says Fujitsu's Gareth Jenkins credibility as a witness is fatally undermined and that he should not be asked to produce any more witness statements nor have any further involvement in ongoing trials. Despite previous assurances from Richard Morgan KC that he couldn't envisage falsehoods being included in signed documents, he concedes that witness statements are sometimes 'fluffed'. It is then put to him that he showed bias in the case of Lee Castleton by ignoring the fact that he repeatedly raised concerns around the Horizon system and its integrity at trial and that it is indeed mentioned in the judgement against him. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Solicitor Stephen Dilley was Worried DISCLOSURE of vital Horizon Helpdesk evidence, potentially supporting the defence of Lee Castleton, would 'Overwhelm Defendant' and decided against disclosing this to him during his trial over wellbeing concerns. Such evidence available at the time included that the Horizon Helpdesk was getting between 12,000 and 15,000 calls per month from subpostmasters with issues and the solicitor decided to neither disclose the volume or the content of these calls. Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC insists that he wasn't involved, nor instructed, on disclosure issues in the case of Lee Castleton. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #PostOfficeSolicitor #RichardMorganKC #StephenDilley #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive

Post Office Barrister REFUSES to Admit a Miscarriage of Justice occurred during the case of Lee Castleton despite overwhelming evidence presented to the Post Office Inquiry as he is questioned by Core Participants. Three times he is asked if there was a 'miserable' or 'desperate' miscarriage of justice and he places the responsibility back onto Lee Castleton for allegedly not saying certain things at trial and the solicitors who formally acted on his behalf. He also distances himself from the disclosure decisions of his former instructing solicitor Stephen Dilley when it is put to him that disclosure in the case of Lee Castleton was a 'dismal failure'. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #StephenDilley #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive #CoreParticipants

Post Office Barrister Richard Morgan KC describes the Post Office's proposed settlement agreement - or Tomlin order - for Lee Castleton as an UNEFORCEABLE Waste of Space when he is questioned about it by Jason Beer KC at the Post Office Inquiry. He regarded that clients normally 'ask for the moon' in such settlements 'when they have no need for it'. One clause of the settlement agreement proposed for Lee Castleton was that he could not criticise the Horizon system and that if he did so he would be agreeing to submit to a Post Office Injunction preventing him from doing it again and paying them 'approximate' damages of £25,000. #PostOfficeInquiry #PostOfficeScandal #PostOffice #PostOfficeLegal #PostOfficeBarrister #RichardMorganKC #LeeCastleton #MarineDrive