Sir Wyn issues further statement on monitoring of Post Office disclosure issues

Following the most recent disclosure hearing held on 12 January, Sir Wyn Williams has set out how he intends to continue monitoring the Post Office's disclosure to the Inquiry, which he has previously called "grossly unsatisfactory".

The Chair’s Further Statement on Disclosure Issues is in response to hearing evidence from Chris Jackson, Partner, Burges Salmon LLP, the Post Office’s recognised legal representative.

Expressing his desire to ensure Phase 5 and 6 hearings proceed as planned in Spring/Summer 2024 and are not delayed by further late disclosure, the Chair has directed the Post Office to meet with the Inquiry’s legal team in the coming days to discuss the Inquiry’s disclosure priorities and deadlines for the upcoming phases. Sir Wyn said, “I would like to stress as strongly as I can … that the Post Office’s prompt discharge of its disclosure obligations is critical and central to the commencement of the next phases of the Inquiry and the efficient and effective conduct of the remaining phase thereafter.”

While acknowledging that such scrutiny “should not become the norm”, Sir Wyn said his views expressed following his previous directions in September 2023 remain the same. This includes that there remains a need for close monitoring of the disclosure process for the remainder of the Inquiry, in particular the disclosure by the Post Office.

Read Sir Wyn’s full statement on our website.

Notes to editors:

• The most recent disclosure hearing focused on issues previously discussed in the Inquiry relating to an email gateway software migration involving ‘Microsoft Exchange’. This had resulted in “a very significant volume of material” being disclosed to the Inquiry and subsequent delays to key witness hearings. The hearing also explored Post Office’s present and future resourcing related to disclosure, the provision to the Inquiry of duplicates and the Post Office’s ongoing structural review.
• This was the fourth hearing on disclosure related issues, following earlier hearings held in July and September last year.