Seema Misra was quoted in a January 2024 BBC article headed Post Office scandal: The ordinary lives devastated by a faulty IT systemhere by Michael Race and Lora Jones.
Fraudster Seema Misra had stated;
They say they have so many other post offices who are doing fine, ‘it’s you having an issue’.
Seema Misra via the BBC dated 17th January 2024 here
Seema Misra did not make this allegation during her October 2010 trial.
It wasn’t until her evidence during the post office Horizon IT inquiry in 2022 that she made this allegation, in relation to one person – her area manager Elaine Ridge.
Elaine Ridge had formally suspended Seema Misra on 12th March 2008.
On 25th February 2022 during the inquiry, Seema Misra alleged that Elaine Ridge had told her during her interview “It’s just your post office we’re having issues with”.
During her trial, prosecutor Warwick Tatford asked Seema Misra about her disciplinary interview;
Did you in that interview at any stage say you were not competent to run the post office?
Prosecutor Warwick Tatford – Monday 18th October 2010 – from page 117E of trial transcripts here
Referring to April 2006, which was less than 10 months after she took over the West Byfleet post office, she told the jury;
I did to Elaine.
I said like as of mid April I just a bit lost the interest and all I doing, I didn’t do the balance properly.
I was just doing a snapshot and just putting the figures in
Seema Misra – Monday 18th October 2010 – from page 117F of trial transcripts here
Fraudster Seema Misra now contradicts her own evidence at trial and comes out with concocted statements like;
I used to be on the floor until the early hours of the morning trying to find out what went wrong, but [I] couldn’t find
Seema Misra via the BBC dated 17th January 2024 here
Yet Seema Misra told the jury during her 2010 trial;
I didn’t do any checks to check the actual cash and all that.
All I was doing print out a snapshot and entering into the system
Seema Misra – Monday 18th October 2010 – from page 73A of trial transcripts here
She also told the jury;
Well, I basically stopped doing a proper, proper check like counting and entering it as of mid 2006.
All I was doing to get this natural figure, checking the amount it should have been there and that is it entering
Seema Misra – Monday 18th October 2010 – from page 90E of trial transcripts here
She reiterated this stating;
I didn’t do any balancing as of mid 2006.
I didn’t do a proper balancing
Seema Misra – Monday 18th October 2010 – from page 90E of trial transcripts page here
According to a 1st December 2023 blog by Nick Wallis here he stated;
We know from the witnesses during Bates v Post Office and the Inquiry evidence we’ve heard over most of 2023 that the Post Office is stuffed to the gills with lifers, plodders and gormless apparatchiks inexplicably promoted into positions way beyond their ability.
Nick Wallis – 1st December 2023
Referring to lawyer Jarnail Singh, Nick Wallis claimed;
….Singh revealed himself to be an exceptionally dangerous man, inhabiting a fantasy world manufactured by a priceless combination of the Peter Principle and the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Nick Wallis – 1st December 2023
Then referring to Jarnail Singh’s evidence during the charade which is the post office Horizon IT inquiry, Nick Wallis went on to state;
Many of Singh’s answers were like this – forthright denial of something, followed by obfuscatory guff and then an oblique admission or, more usually, a change of subject.
Nick Wallis – 1st December 2023
For “forthright denial of something”, “obfuscatory guff”, “oblique admissions” and “more usually a change of subject” have a read of perjurer, thief and fraudster Seema Misra’s evidence during her 2010 trial.
Tap on the button below to read trial transcripts – from page 27;
14th August 2003 ~ “Yes, I can verify that my mother and my brother had a fire”
During his section 14 interview on 14th August 2003, sadistic murderer Luke Mitchell told the police his mother Corinne and his brother Shane Mitchell had a fire in their garden on the evening he committed his murder.
Below are extracts from Sgt George Thomson’s trial testimony;
Alan Turnbull: Right. And he was asked whether the log burner and his back garden was lit that night, that’s Monday the 30th?
Sgt George Thomson: Yes
Alan Turnbull: And what was his answer to that?
Sgt George Thomson: “Yes, I can verify that my mother and my brother had a fire”
Alan Turnbull: Right. So he says that his mother and his brother had a fire that night?
3rd September 2003
Less than 3 weeks later the murderer gave a Sky News interview to James Matthews, on the very day that Jodi Jones was laid to rest, pretending he knew nothing about his fires.
Below are excerpts from the Sky interview;
James Matthews: This burning of clothes keeps getting mentioned and there is also the subject of a missing knife, is that your missing knife?
Murderer Luke Mitchell: No. The burning clothes that wasn’t us. They just stated that a female relative of the suspect admitted to burning clothes
James Matthews: Was that you or anyone connected to you?
People join cult movements for various reasons, most of which revolve around a desire for meaning and community.
Many who become part of such organizations have troubled backgrounds and difficulty fitting into society.
They might also feel mainstream culture has no place for them and nothing of spiritual value to offer either.
Former cult members often describe the long-lasting sense of loneliness and nihilism they felt prior to becoming part of something bigger than themselves.
In psychology, what is known as theillusory truth effect is a phenomenon in which a listener comes to believe something primarily because it has been repeated so often.
The illusory truth effect can cause us to become susceptible to the effects of another dangerous form of reality erosion known as gaslighting.
Deliberate manipulators who gaslight with the intention of eroding your reality and rewriting history tend to use the illusory truth effect to their advantage.
They will repeat falsehoods so often that they become ingrained in the victim’s mind as unshakeable truths.
No Evidence Horizon Was Responsible For Seema Misra’s Thefts
There is no evidence that the Horizon computer system at the West Byfleet post office was responsible for Seema Misra’s thefts.
Susan Harding (Read more here) a former senior manager from the post office, who had trained as an accountant, gave her evidence to the inquiry on 22nd February 2023.
Susan Harding stated;
I’m not disrespecting any of the people that have been jailed, if Horizon was wrong
But there had been many people…
Susan Harding – 22nd February 2023 (At around 35:30 here)
At which point Jason Beer chose to interrupt Susan Harding and stated;
So you said if Horizon was wrong, erm eh eh
Jason Beer – 22nd February 2023 (At around 35:30 here)
To which Susan Harding replied;
Yes I’m not doubting it was wrong
I’m just saying I am…
Sarah Harding
Jason Beer did not give Susan Harding the opportunity to finish what she had started to say, and instead interrupted her again and stated;
Right so we can remove
Can we remove if from that sentence
Jason Beer – 22nd February 2023 (At around 35:30 here)
To which Susan Harding stated
Okay
Susan Harding – 22nd February 2023 (At around 35:30 here)
The aim of the inquiry should not ‘only be to establish the truth – what happened, why, and where accountability may lie – but also to alleviate public concern and restore confidence.
It should ‘provide an independent account of the facts and a mechanism for recommendations so that a reoccurrence of such events does not happen.
Jason Beer should not be tailoring witness evidence to suit his agenda and that of the public inquiries.
Susan Harding’s “independent account of the facts” should not be altered to fit with the inquiries biased narrative.
The only calls Seema Misra appears to have made to the Horizon helpline number, during her entire time at the West Byfleet post office, regarding monies was between 20th and 23rd February 2006.
On 27th February 2006 Anne Chambers from Fujitsu investigated and made the following notes;
I have checked very carefully and can see no indication that the continuing discrepancies are due to a system problem.
I have not been able to pin down discrepancies for individual days or stock units because the branch does not seem to be operating in a particularly organised manner.
In particular I have noted
1. There are 6 stock units in this 3 counter branch, which seems a bit excessive.
2. The loss in euros in TP9 appears genuine – the declared quantity was 4000 fewer than the system expected.
It is not clear from the information above whether anyone found out why this happened (there were several rem outs, and a rem in, on 23rd Dec – did the pouches contain the declared number of euros?).
3. Stock is sometimes transferred out of a stock unit where it is not held.
In particular there were several transfers out of stock unit SM1 in TP10.
At the end of the period the stock figures were corrected back up to zero via adjust stock. This
gave a gain of over £2000 in SM1.
Equivalent negative stock adjust in AA gave a corresponding loss in AA.
4. I am not confident that the stock declarations are always correct eg. at the.…
Excerpts from Anne Chambers 27th February 2006 note (Source at around 1:50:22 here)
Below is a screenshot of what the inquiry chose to display;
Where is the rest of Anne Chambers note and what else did she note about Seema Misra’s West Byfleet Branch?
And why did Jason Beer, and the inquiry, choose to hide the rest of Anne Chambers note?
Seema Misra’s evidence in chief was that from mid April 2006 “I basically stopped doing a proper, proper check like counting and entering it as of mid 2006. All I was doing to get this natural figure, checking the amount it should have been there and that is it entering” (p.90 here).
Seema reiterated this to the jury and stated “I didn’t do any balancing as of mid 2006. I didn’t do a proper balancing” (p.99 here).
Referring to area manager Elaine Ridge, Seema Misra told the jury “I said like as of mid April I just a bit lost the interest and all I doing, I didn’t do the balance properly. I was just doing a snapshot and just putting the figures in“ (p.117 here).
However Anne Chambers 27th February 2006 note suggests Seema Misra was not completing legitimate stock declarations before April 2006 ie; she was false accounting well before April 2006.
Referring to around this time period, chief enabler Nick Wallis chose to attempt to re-write history via his The Great Post Office Scandal book stating “The Misras redoubled their efforts. In his first phone call to me, Davinder Misra tearfully related the nights of mounting panic he and Seema experienced, printing off the day’s transactions on Horizon’s crappy till roll, staying up to ‘one … two in the morning’, going through the lengths of paper line by line, desperately trying to find some clue as to what might be causing them to lose so much money”.
Tap on button below to read Part 34a of this blog series, regarding grave concerns of Jason Beer’d legal and professional commitments to the inquiry;
18th October 2010 ~ Lies & Concoctions During Trial
On 18th October 2010 during her evidence in chief, Seema Misra attempted to dupe the jury by allegeding there had been “shortfalls” in her West Byfleet post office branch, at the end of her very first and second weeks balancing – in front of both her “onsite” trainers Junaid and Michael.
She had been given the keys to the post office on 29th June 2005.
Seema Misra’s evidence was that trainer Janaid arrived at her branch on Thursday 30th June, and stayed for one week, until balancing on Wednesday 6th July 2005.
Her evidence during trial regarding the weekly balance was an alleged “£150” figure at the end of her first week trading with Junaid, and an alleged “£400shortfall” figure, at the end of her second week with Michael Opebiyi.
She lied to the jury and said that trainer Michael Opebiyi had “made a phone call from office, I don’t know where”, and that she did not hear from Michael again after Wednesday 13th July 2005.
There were no telephone calls to the horizon helpline during Seema Misra’s two week “onsite” training, between 30th June and 13th July 2005, with regards any “£400shortfall”.
Defence lawyer Keith Hadrill asked Seema Misra about her second week in the branch, which began on Thursday 7th July 2005. Below are copies of extracts from trial transcripts regarding this (p.51 here);
Keith Hadrill: So the week goes by. Did you know what the transaction errors were or did you receive anything personally? The second week, the same trainer or a different trainer?
Seema Misra: No. This was Michael came in
Keith Hadrill: Was that from a Thursday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Thursday?
Seema Misra: (inaudible) Thursday
Keith Hadrill: What happened whilst Michael was there? Did he also sit behind and watch what you were doing?
Seema Misra: Yeah. He was sitting behind me, but I mentioned to him – as he come in “how is it going?” I said “not good. I am having to put money in every day to the post office”. He was more concerned than Junaid. He said “that should not be happening. Let us see how it goes”.
Keith Hadrill: Did it get any better?
Seema Misra: No: I have to again put money in every day and then when balancing with Michael it came round about £400 short
Keith Hadrill: At the end of the week?
Seema Misra: End of – yeah, end of the balancing Wednesday. That is my first balance –second balancing in office, first with Michael
Keith Hadrill:So the first day with Michael on the second week?
Seema Misra:That is right – no – yeah. That is right
Keith Hadrill: It is £400 short?
Seema Misra: No, no, no. That is on the second balancing £400 short
Keith Hadrill: So that is the end of the second week?
Seema Misra: End of second week
Keith Hadrill: Did you get any error corrections there?
Seema Misra: No. Michael said “it is a bit unusual. I know you have been doing the transaction correctly”. Then I remember him staying behind and he made a phone call from office, I don’t know where, but he said he had been observing. We are doing the transaction correctly. He can’t understand – and they have been putting the money in every day to balance the till and he can’t understand why the £400 shortfall is
Keith Hadrill: Right. So that gets to the end of the week. Did you get any more training?
Seema Misra: Not after Michael, no, but he said he will look into it
Keith Hadrill: Was that the last you heard of him?
Seema Misra: That is right
During his cross examination, prosecutor Warwick Tatford referred to Seema Misra’s memory with respect to trainers Janaid and Michael, and their time at her branch during her first two weeks trading.
Seema Misra agreed with Warwick Tatford that she had a “clear” memory of these events. Below are copies of further extracts from transcripts (p.114 here);
Warwick Tatford: Right. I see. You have a clear memory as I understand of what happened between you and Junaid and Michael in 2005 when losses were occurring from the very beginning?
Seema Misra: Yeah
Warwick Tatford: And that is an important part of your defence, isn’t it?
Seema Misra: I don’t understand that. Yeah
Warwick Tatford: You are saying that the losses may be down to some kind of computer error, are you not, or are you not saying that?
Seema Misra: Yeah. We are saying that, yeah
Warwick Tatford: Right, or they are down to your incompetence?
Seema Misra: Yes
Warwick Tatford: Or they are down to theft?
Seema Misra: Yes
Warwick Tatford: Do you accept it cannot all be down to theft?
Seema Misra: I don’t know. It is just I know the losses are there
Warwick Tatford: Let us just examine it. £89,000 loss when you dismiss the thieves. The thieves have gone. The losses continue. So the losses that continue cannot be down to the thieves because you have sacked them?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: So theft alone by your employees does not explain the loss, does it?
Seema Misra: Okay
Warwick Tatford: So it must be down to one or both of two matters, either computer error or your incompetence?
Seema Misra: Yeah
Warwick Tatford: Right. So your potential incompetence or the issue of your competence and the issue of computer error are important parts of your defence?
Seema Misra: Okay
Warwick Tatford: You are saying as I understand it “I knew from day one there was a problem with the system because I was suffering these losses.” Yes
Seema Misra: I knew from the day one that we were losing money
Warwick Tatford: Yes, and day one in what would have been rather difficult for your employees to steal from you on day one with Junaid there, would it not?
Seema Misra: Yeah, when I look back, yes
Warwick Tatford: Yes. So from day one you were suffering losses which you could not explain and you now put those down to either failings on your part, a lack of competence, or some sort of computer problem. Do I have it correct?
Seema Misra: Sorry, say that again
Warwick Tatford: You are saying you think there was a problem with the computer. Is that right?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: You are saying you are worried that you were not up to running the system, that you were lost?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: When you were interviewed by the Post Office on 14th January just after the audit those are matters you knew, were they not? You knew on day one that there were losses, that Junaid had found losses. You knew that Michael had had losses that he could not explain. Those are matters fresher in your memory than they are now because you were being interviewed in 2008. Yes?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: So why didn’t you say anything to the Post Office investigators in interview about what happened with Junaid and Michael?
Seema Misra: I got answered the question what they asked for. I did mention in Elaine Ridge’s interview that it was because staff was blaming might be a system error
Seema Misra lied to the jury and chose to intentionally conflate Michael Opebiyi‘s first week in the branch, between Thursday 7th July to Wednesday 13th July 2005, with his return to the branch, several weeks later.
During her evidence in chief Seema Misra had stated “Then I remember a guy came in, somebody from Network something” (p.57h here).
Almost a month after Seema Misra began trading, on 25th July 2005 a request was received relating to her branch for “ad hoc” training to be carried out regarding “balancing procedure”.
Following the 25th July request, trainer Michael Opebiyi was allocated to return to her branch on Wednesday 27th July, and again on Wednesday 3rd August 2005.
These were only one day assignments.
Referring to trainer Michael’s last day of week two of her time as sub-postmistress of the West Byfleet post officer (13th July 2005), Keith Hadrill had asked Seema Misra “Was that the last you heard of him?”.
To which she lied and stated “That is right”.
Keith Hadrill also asked Seema Misra “Did you get any more training?” to which she had stated “Not after Michael, no”.
This was a lie by concealment.
Michael Opebiyi had returned to her branch almost a month after she had last seen him, but Seema Misra chose to withhold this information from the jury.
She also chose to lie about the “£400shortfall” figure, which was not known about until August 2005.
The “guy” referred to by Seema “from Network something” was intervention manager Alan Ridoutt.
Alan Ridoutt made a record of his dealings with Seema Misra, as well as the “£400shortfall” figure.
The following are copies of some of Alan Ridoutt’s ”visits log”;
This branch was visited on 10, 17 and 27 August 2005 regarding balancing issues
I have spent many hours sorting out balancing issues and helping with the stock setup as well as arranging ad hoc training
This branch is currently holding a loss of £466.73 and an over of £96.80
That was put into the suspense account by the trainer ‘Michael’
Who told the [subpostmaster] that a voucher would be issued to clear it
I have spoken to Michael who confirmed that he did this
I have warned the [subpostmaster] that unless an error comes back they could be liable
Copies of intervention manager Alan Ridoutt’s notes
25th February 2022 ~ Lies & Concoctions During Public Inquiry
The aim of the public post office horizon IT inquiry should not ‘only be to establish the truth – what happened, why, and where accountability may lie – but also to alleviate public concern and restore confidence.
It should ‘provide an independent account of the facts and a mechanism for recommendations so that a reoccurrence of such events does not happen.
Is lawyer Jason Beer, counsel to the inquiry, a post conviction activist or an independent inquirer?
On 25th February 2022 Seema Misra chose to lie to the inquiry about trainer Michael Opebiyi, and she literally attempted to re-write history – enabled by Jason Beer.
Below is an extract from inquiry transcripts where Jason Beer chose to go along with Seema Misra’s lies and concoctions regarding trainer Michael, which is surely in breach of his legal and professional commitments to the inquiry – and to the rule of law (p.44 & 45 here).
Jason Beer: Did there come a time when the trainer rang the helpline
Seema Misra: Yes. So the first week trainer, he was.. he was there but, like when the shortfalls were there and everything he said “Oh, and on Wednesday when you do rollover, it will balance up”. And on Wednesday when I do rollover, I have to put again money from the shop counter and he was just gone, nothing.. nothing said. But then when the next trainer came, Michael, the second week, and he asked me “Congratulations, how is it going and everything?”. I said.. you know, I told him what had been happening from the first day until the balancing. He was concerned. He said “Let’s see how it goes”. He was there like Junaid but, he was paying more attention to each and every transaction we do and on Wednesday he was there with the balancing and all that, and there was a shortfall. It was in hundreds.. I think a couple of hundred pounds. He called the helpline said he had been here whole week watching each and every transaction, me doing it correctly, but still there’s a shortfall. So the helpline asked him to do some procedure on the system and the figure doubled up
Jason Beer: Just tell us that bit again. He was getting some instructions down the phoneline from the helpline?
Seema Misra: Correct
Jason Beer: They said to do something with the system?
Seema Misra: Correct
Jason Beer: And that caused the shortfall to double?
Seema Misra: Double
Jason Beer: So what happened with the doubled shortfall?
Seema Misra: Nothing. He said, like, you know “Just keep an eye”. I can’t remember exactly how was it dealt with but he said “Keep an eye, if there’s any issues there’s a helpline number, call them up”. But he was shocked. He said “I can’t” – I ask him can he stay over another week or something. He said he can’t, he’s supposed to here (sic) for one week only
Why did Jason Beer choose to enable Seema Misra’s lies?
She was referring to events which occurred around a month after she began trading, when a voucher was issued to “clear” the “£400shortfall” figure.
Seema Misra’s allegations that figures “doubled” was, and still is, yet another blatant concoction.
At no time during her evidence at trial did Seema Misra give any indication that any figures had “doubled”.
Jonathan Longman, the post office investigator, assigned to Seema Misra’s case contacted Surrey police regarding crime reports.
He established that on 8th April 2006 Davinder Misra, Seema Misra’s husband, had contacted the police to report former employee Nadia Badiwalia for allegedly being “an illegal immigrant”.
Jonathan Longman told the jury in October 2010 “The report says that this female, Nadia, is suspected of being an illegal immigrant and that she is causing a nuisance at the post office, that she is in the office shouting and screaming” (p.9 here).
However when the police attended the post office, it turned out to be a waste of time.
Nadia had never been in the post office, she was allegedly on the telephone and it was seemingly Seema Misra who was “shouting and screaming”.
The Misra’s were given the telephone number for “customs”, however it is not known what the outcome of these allegations were.
On 20th January 2020, the Metropolitan police service (MPS) received a letter from judge Peter Fraser via the crown prosecution service (CPS).
“The letter concerned high court proceedings relating to Bates and others v Post Office Ltd which concluded in December 2019”.
Judge Fraser’s 14th January 2020 letter to Max Hill, then director of public prosecutions, can be read in full here
Under the header Prosecution of Mrs Misra, Judge Fraser stated in part;
Mrs Misra was a SPM at West Byfleet in Surrey who was charged both with theft from her branch, and also false accounting. The sums in question in her case which formed the subject matter of the charges amounted to approximately £74,000. Mrs Misra pleaded not guilty, and her defence was that the Horizon system was to blame.
Excerpt from Mr justice Fraser’s 14th January 2020 letter to Max Hill
Seema Misra pleaded guilty to false accounting and her defence was initially that her former employees had stolen “£89,000” to “£90,000” in/around November-December 2006.
Her defence regarding Horizon only came about after she apparently read a Computer Weekly article the night before her trial was due to begin on 2nd June 2009.
To date (13th February 2024) Seema Misra has not retracted her false allegations against her former employees.
The contents of judge Fraser’s letter was “subsequently assessed and a criminal investigation was opened by the MPS”.
The police investigation into alleged criminal activity at Fujitsu and the Post Office has been named Operation Olympus.
The MPS will not be providing a running commentary on the criminal investigation which remains ongoing, but can confirm we are aware of the Criminal Case Review Commission’s referral to the Court of Appeal and subsequent proceedings. It can be confirmed that a man and woman, both in their 60s have been interviewed under caution earlier in September and October. No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.
To confirm the Met does not identify any person who may, or may not be, subject to an investigation. Being given this statement is not a confirmation of any name or profession media may attribute, or wish to attribute. It is given on the basis of being requested for information on the incident, on the date stated and at the location stated. Should media attribute a name or profession to the victim or the person under investigation this will not have been confirmed by the Met.
The MPS continues to be an interested party in the public enquiry and will be supporting the inquiry.
Hornswoggler Nick Wallis stated in his 18th November 2020 blog here
Although Mr Justice Fraser didn’t name Anne Chambers or Gareth Jenkins at the time, he did in his confidential letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, dated 14 January 2020. We know this because it is in the appendix of the CCRC’s Statement of Reasons, circulated to journalists today. In his letter, Mr Justice Fraser sets out what Mr Jenkins and Ms Chambers knew and concludes:
“in order to give fully truthful evidence to the court… namely the prosecution of Mrs Misra and the civil claim against Mr [Lee] Castleton, both Mr Jenkins and Mrs Chambers respectively should have told the court of the widespread impact of (at the very least) the bugs, errors and defects in Horizon that they knew about at the time that they gave their evidence.”
This letter was sent by the DPP to the Metropolitan Police, who immediately started investigating. Last week, Computer Weekly was told the Met had turned their ten month investigation into a criminal investigation. Today we have discovered the names of at least two of the individuals involved.
After some discussion, Lord Justice Holroyde decided there was no need for any need for any reporting restrictions to be imposed on the Court of Appeal proceedings in the light of the Met’s criminal investigation, but reminded the media of the “general need on their part to avoid reporting anything which may prejudice the ongoing investigation or any charges which may flow from it.”
Excerpts by Nick Wallis – Fujitsu staff under criminal investigation named dated 18th November 2020
18th October 2010 ~ Lies & Concoctions During Trial
On 18th October 2010 during her evidence in chief, Seema Misra attempted to dupe the jury by allegeding there had been “shortfalls” in her West Byfleet post office branch, at the end of her very first and second weeks balancing – in front of both her onsite trainers Junaid and Michael Opebiyi.
She had been given the keys to the post office on 29th June 2005.
Seema Misra’s evidence was that trainer Janaid arrived at her branch on Thursday 30th June, and stayed for one week, until balancing on Wednesday 6th July 2005.
Her evidence during trial regarding the weekly balance was an alleged “£150” figure at the end of her first week trading with Junaid, and an alleged “£400shortfall” figure, at the end of her second week with Michael.
She lied to the jury and said that trainer Michael had “made a phone call from office, I don’t know where”, and that she did not hear from Michael again after Wednesday 13th July 2005.
There were no telephone calls to the horizon helpline during Seema Misra’s two week onsite training, between 30th June and 13th July 2005, with regards any “£400shortfall”.
Defence lawyer Keith Hadrill asked Seema Misra about her second week in the branch, which began on Thursday 7th July 2005. Below are copies of extracts from trial transcripts regarding this (p.51 here);
Keith Hadrill: So the week goes by. Did you know what the transaction errors were or did you receive anything personally? The second week, the same trainer or a different trainer?
Seema Misra: No. This was Michael came in
Keith Hadrill: Was that from a Thursday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Thursday?
Seema Misra: (inaudible) Thursday
Keith Hadrill: What happened whilst Michael was there? Did he also sit behind and watch what you were doing?
Seema Misra: Yeah. He was sitting behind me, but I mentioned to him – as he come in “how is it going?” I said “not good. I am having to put money in every day to the post office”. He was more concerned than Junaid. He said “that should not be happening. Let us see how it goes”.
Keith Hadrill: Did it get any better?
Seema Misra: No: I have to again put money in every day and then when balancing with Michael it came round about £400 short
Keith Hadrill: At the end of the week?
Seema Misra: End of – yeah, end of the balancing Wednesday. That is my first balance –second balancing in office, first with Michael
Keith Hadrill: So the first day with Michael on the second week?
Seema Misra: That is right – no – yeah. That is right
Keith Hadrill: It is £400 short?
Seema Misra: No, no, no. That is on the second balancing £400 short
Keith Hadrill: So that is the end of the second week?
Seema Misra: End of second week
Keith Hadrill: Did you get any error corrections there?
Seema Misra: No. Michael said “it is a bit unusual. I know you have been doing the transaction correctly”. Then I remember him staying behind and he made a phone call from office, I don’t know where, but he said he had been observing. We are doing the transaction correctly. He can’t understand – and they have been putting the money in every day to balance the till and he can’t understand why the £400 shortfall is
Keith Hadrill: Right. So that gets to the end of the week. Did you get any more training?
Seema Misra: Not after Michael, no, but he said he will look into it
Keith Hadrill: Was that the last you heard of him?
Seema Misra: That is right
During his cross examination, prosecutor Warwick Tatford referred to Seema’s memory with respect to trainers Janaid and Michael, and their time at her branch during her first two weeks trading.
Seema Misra agreed with Warwick Tatford that she had a “clear” memory of these events. Below are copies of further extracts from transcripts (p.114 here);
Warwick Tatford: Right. I see. You have a clear memory as I understand of what happened between you and Junaid and Michael in 2005 when losses were occurring from the very beginning?
Seema Misra: Yeah
Warwick Tatford: And that is an important part of your defence, isn’t it?
Seema Misra: I don’t understand that. Yeah
Warwick Tatford: You are saying that the losses may be down to some kind of computer error, are you not, or are you not saying that?
Seema Misra: Yeah. We are saying that, yeah
Warwick Tatford: Right, or they are down to your incompetence?
Seema Misra: Yes
Warwick Tatford: Or they are down to theft?
Seema Misra: Yes
Warwick Tatford: Do you accept it cannot all be down to theft?
Seema Misra: I don’t know. It is just I know the losses are there
Warwick Tatford: Let us just examine it. £89,000 loss when you dismiss the thieves. The thieves have gone. The losses continue. So the losses that continue cannot be down to the thieves because you have sacked them?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: So theft alone by your employees does not explain the loss, does it?
Seema Misra: Okay
Warwick Tatford: So it must be down to one or both of two matters, either computer error or your incompetence?
Seema Misra: Yeah
Warwick Tatford: Right. So your potential incompetence or the issue of your competence and the issue of computer error are important parts of your defence?
Seema Misra: Okay
Warwick Tatford: You are saying as I understand it “I knew from day one there was a problem with the system because I was suffering these losses.” Yes
Seema Misra: I knew from the day one that we were losing money
Warwick Tatford: Yes, and day one in what would have been rather difficult for your employees to steal from you on day one with Junaid there, would it not?
Seema Misra: Yeah, when I look back, yes
Warwick Tatford: Yes. So from day one you were suffering losses which you could not explain and you now put those down to either failings on your part, a lack of competence, or some sort of computer problem. Do I have it correct?
Seema Misra: Sorry, say that again
Warwick Tatford: You are saying you think there was a problem with the computer. Is that right?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: You are saying you are worried that you were not up to running the system, that you were lost?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: When you were interviewed by the Post Office on 14th January just after the audit those are matters you knew, were they not? You knew on day one that there were losses, that Junaid had found losses. You knew that Michael had had losses that he could not explain. Those are matters fresher in your memory than they are now because you were being interviewed in 2008. Yes?
Seema Misra: That is right, yeah
Warwick Tatford: So why didn’t you say anything to the Post Office investigators in interview about what happened with Junaid and Michael?
Seema Misra: I got answered the question what they asked for. I did mention in Elaine Ridge’s interview that it was because staff was blaming might be a system error
Seema Misra lied to the jury and chose to intentionally conflate Michael Opebiyi‘s first week in the branch, between Thursday 7th July to Wednesday 13th July 2005, with his return to the branch, several weeks later.
During her evidence in chief Seema Misra had stated “Then I remember a guy came in, somebody from Network something” (p.57h here).
Almost a month after Seema Misra began trading, on 25th July 2005 a request was received relating to her branch for “ad hoc” training to be carried out regarding “balancing procedure”.
Following the 25th July request, trainer Michael Opebiyi was allocated to return to her branch on Wednesday 27th July, and again on Wednesday 3rd August 2005.
These were only one day assignments.
Keith Hadrill: Was that the last you heard of him?
Seema Misra: That is right
Again, referring to her first two weeks onsite training, Keith Hadrill had asked Seema Misra “Did you get any more training?” to which she had stated “Not after Michael, no”.
This was a lie by concealment.
Michael Opebiyi had returned to her branch almost a month after she had last seen him, but Seema Misra chose to withhold this information from the jury.
She also chose to lie about the “£400shortfall” figure, which was not known about until August 2005.
The “guy” referred to by Seema “from Network something” was intervention manager Alan Ridoutt.
Alan Ridoutt made a record of his dealings with Seema Misra, as well as the “£400shortfall” figure.
The following are copies of some of Alan Ridoutt’s ”visits log”;
This branch was visited on 10, 17 and 27 August 2005 regarding balancing issues
I have spent many hours sorting out balancing issues and helping with the stock setup as well as arranging ad hoc training
This branch is currently holding a loss of £466.73 and an over of £96.80
That was put into the suspense account by the trainer ‘Michael’
Who told the [subpostmaster] that a voucher would be issued to clear it
I have spoken to Michael who confirmed that he did this
I have warned the [subpostmaster] that unless an error comes back they could be liable
Copies of intervention manager Alan Ridoutt’s notes
25th February 2022 ~ Lies & Concoctions During Public Inquiry
The aim of the public post office horizon IT inquiry should not ‘only be to establish the truth – what happened, why, and where accountability may lie – but also to alleviate public concern and restore confidence.
It should ‘provide an independent account of the facts and a mechanism for recommendations so that a reoccurrence of such events does not happen.
Is Jason Beer, counsel to the inquiry, a post conviction activist or an independent inquirer?
On 25th February 2022 Seema Misra chose to lie to the inquiry about trainer Michael Opebiyi, and she literally attempted to re-write history – enabled by Jason Beer.
Below is an extract from inquiry transcripts where Jason Beer chose to go along with Seema Misra’s lies and concoctions regarding trainer Michael, which is surely in breach of his legal and professional commitments to the inquiry, and to the rule of law (p.44 & 45 here).
Jason Beer: Did there come a time when the trainer rang the helpline
Seema Misra: Yes. So the first week trainer, he was.. he was there but, like when the shortfalls were there and everything he said “Oh, and on Wednesday when you do rollover, it will balance up”. And on Wednesday when I do rollover, I have to put again money from the shop counter and he was just gone, nothing.. nothing said. But then when the next trainer came, Michael, the second week, and he asked me “Congratulations, how is it going and everything?”. I said.. you know, I told him what had been happening from the first day until the balancing. He was concerned. He said “Let’s see how it goes”. He was there like Junaid but, he was paying more attention to each and every transaction we do and on Wednesday he was there with the balancing and all that, and there was a shortfall. It was in hundreds.. I think a couple of hundred pounds. He called the helpline said he had been here whole week watching each and every transaction, me doing it correctly, but still there’s a shortfall. So the helpline asked him to do some procedure on the system and the figure doubled up
Jason Beer: Just tell us that bit again. He was getting some instructions down the phoneline from the helpline?
Seema Misra: Correct
Jason Beer: They said to do something with the system?
Seema Misra: Correct
Jason Beer: And that caused the shortfall to double?
Seema Misra: Double
Jason Beer: So what happened with the doubled shortfall?
Seema Misra: Nothing. He said, like, you know “Just keep an eye”. I can’t remember exactly how was it dealt with but he said “Keep an eye, if there’s any issues there’s a helpline number, call them up”. But he was shocked. He said “I can’t” – I ask him can he stay over another week or something. He said he can’t, he’s supposed to here (sic) for one week only
During the inquiry Seema Misra was referring to events which occurred around a month after she began trading, when a voucher was issued to “clear” the “£400shortfall” figure.
Her allegations that figures “doubled” was, and still is, yet another blatant concoction.
At no time during her evidence at trial did Seema Misra give any indication that any figures had “doubled”.
INNOCENCE FRAUD WATCH 