Interpretation

 Subject: Interpretation

Tuning in to the opening evidence given to the enquiry into the interrogation of the Post Masters and Mistresses who were being accused of theft from the system one is struck by the whiles of barristers to lay emphasis on a single sentences taken out of context and is to my mind  prejudicial to the search for truth.

The enquiry is interrogating a member of the POs security team who on the one hand seems something of a rough diamond but also a person who might be termed a 'jobs worth' in that as long as he followed the rules as set out by the PO he was very reluctant to look elsewhere as to why the mismatch in accounting process arose.

My own reminiscence of people performing the job behind the counter was that they had to cope with a whole array of procedure from the issue of selling stamps to the issue of motor vehicle taxation, acting as intermediary in passport procurement, a whole array of government processes including pension payments and so much more, each system with its own intricacies and the information required to fill in the documentation and the personal accountability was to my mind quite complicated and each stood alone according to the service offered.

Listening to the interrogation one is struck by the reliance of the PO accounting team on the system rather than drawing conclusions which should have been considered by the sheer number of alleged misappropriation. Psychological compartmentalism is a term which comes to mind. Firms which employ homegrown investigators rather the professional auditors run the invariable risk  of employing people who are blind to associating the issues to a wider auditing process, they install a 'company-man first and foremost' which is a weakness and leads to undermining the core values a company should be founded on. Also the legal companies employed by the PO seem to cozily underperform their own accountability by injecting statements which purport to come from the PO investigatory team but are cut and paste statements to avoid culpability.

The investigation leaves a sour taste in the mouth that this is the way business is done in this country and it's taken a drama/documentary to push the button and get people in parliament to get off their customary high horse and at least take time off their attention to preserving the status quo.