Former Post Office manager claims no memory of preparing witness statement in legal battle against subpostmaster

Former Post Office Manager Claims No Memory of Preparing Witness Statement in Legal Battle Over Horizon System

A former Post Office manager, Elaine Cottam, has claimed that she has no memory of preparing a witness statement as part of a legal battle against a subpostmaster who alleged unexplained losses caused by computer errors in the Post Office Horizon system.

Cottam, who was a retail line manager at the Post Office, made this revelation during her testimony at the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal. She stated that despite having signed the witness statement, she has no recollection of writing it. The witness statement was intended to be used by the Post Office in a legal dispute with one of the branches she oversaw, specifically the Cleveleys branch in Lancashire.

The legal dispute in question involved subpostmaster Julie Wolstenholme challenging the reliability of the Horizon computer system. The case ended in an out-of-court settlement, with Wolstenholme signing a confidentiality agreement. The Post Office had initially attempted to sue Wolstenholme for the return of equipment used in the Cleveleys branch after her contract was terminated, but she counterclaimed, alleging unlawful termination of employment and questioning the reliability of the Horizon system.

The case never made it to court due to an expert report that raised significant questions about the Horizon system. The Post Office was forced to pay the subpostmaster to settle the dispute, with a confidentiality agreement preventing the details from becoming public knowledge.

During her testimony, Cottam also revealed discrepancies in the witness statement she had signed, including missing call logs that indicated issues with the Horizon system at the Cleveleys branch. She claimed to have no knowledge of the case or the civil court proceedings until she received a bundle of documents related to it.

The public inquiry is investigating how numerous former subpostmasters were prosecuted or bankrupted based on evidence from the error-prone Horizon system. To date, 93 convictions have been overturned. The scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009.

Cottam’s testimony raises further questions about the handling of the Horizon system by the Post Office and the impact it had on subpostmasters. The inquiry continues to uncover the extent of the issues surrounding the system and its implications for those affected.