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Post Office inquiry live: Former litigation lawyer Rodric Williams to give evidence - BBC News Post Office inquiry live: Former litigation lawyer Rodric Williams to give evidence - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Beers now asks Williams about the attitude, within the legal team at the Post Office, toward sub-postmasters who were trying to defend themselves against allegations they had stolen money and were saying it was because of Horizon. The inquiry hears now that Williams told colleagues "we don't need to do research on Horizon", and if sub-postmasters do not like it "they can choose not to provide services for us".
"What was the general attitude, if there was one?" Beers asks. Williams was asked about an email sent to the Post Office by journalist Nick Wallis in 2014.
"I don't think there was a general feeling," Williams says. In the email, Wallis asked when was the last time the Post Office did any research into how satisfied sub-postmasters were with Horizon.
He continues: "I am sorry I am really struggling with this because I am trying to picture the work environment, which is where I feel you're taking me." In a response to colleagues,Williams said: "We don't need to do research on Horizon - it's the system we provide to our agents and require them to use. If agents don't like it, they can choose not to provide services for us.
Beers says he wants to know whether there was an "attitude of mind" toward sub-postmasters, to which Williams says "I wouldn't have thought so, no." "The vast majority of our agents and other users work with it just fine, and we're not required to bespoke our point of sale accounting system to the whims of each individual agent."
"There was a lot of discussion at the corporate communications level about postmasters being the heart of the company and clearly an essential component of the business, customer-facing part of the business," Williams says.
Asked about the "feeling in the office" toward postmaster, Williams says he'd hope it was neutral.
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