ON Thursday last week, I visited Wessex Internet on site near Sherborne to learn about the work it is doing for rural communities.

It’s fantastic to see first-hand the dedication and commitment Wessex Internet provides to ensure properties are connected to broadband.

The whole operation – from the groundwork to installation of cables – is incredible and very well organised.

We’ve made huge strides forward in broadband connectivity over the last few years and Wessex internet is leading the way in terms of making good progress to connect those ‘not-spots’ or difficult to connect places.

Post Offices locally are the backbone of our society. But my respect for the senior management of the post office, past and present, is quite different. I find them disingenuous to the extent that I called them out in the House of Commons in May last year – not just about the Horizon IT system but their other behaviours as well, including their attempt to award enormous executive bonuses when many people deserving damages from the Horizon nightmare had not – and still have not – been paid.

And we have not even scratched the surface yet of their approach to minimal transaction fees paid to post offices.

The Post Office Horizon scandal is something that has sickened me since being in Parliament.

Here in West Dorset, one sub-postmaster suffered from this scandal – although they moved from Dorset shortly after I was elected. But that was one too many. Across the country many were falsely accused, some have died since – without getting their names cleared and it is one of the worst institutional scandals in my living memory.

READ MORE: West Dorset MP calls for Post Office boss to lose her CBE

The Mr Bates v The Post Office drama on ITV has put so much into clear focus when often we have heard or looked on this issue not fully understanding it.

The CBE honour has been returned by the former chief executive. But I want to let you know that I will stop at nothing until we: 1 – Remove the appeals and recompense process from the Post Office itself; 2 – Get real and proper justice for everyone who has been affected by this; and 3 – Get an answer out of the Leader of the Liberal Democrats as to why he took £275,000 from the Post Office’s legal firm, which was fighting the sub-postmasters.
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was Post Office minister during this time and he should answer to parliament why he ignored the calls for help.

It is also becoming clear that Sir Ed was recruited as a ‘consultant’ by the Post Office’s own lawyers. He
was absent from parliament last week, but I hope we might hear more from the Liberal Democrats soon about his reasons for receiving £830 an hour from the Post Office lawyers – at the very same time sub-postmasters looked to take legal action against the Post Office to clear their name in 2017.

As always, if you’d like to get in touch about the above or anything else, you can contact me at hello@chrisloder.co.uk.

CHRIS LODER
Conservative MP for West Dorset