Post Office investigator claims Horizon sufferer who died ‘damaged man’ was responsible

A Post Office investigator has insisted a subpostmaster was responsible of embezzlement regardless of his wrongful conviction being overturned by a courtroom.

Raymond Grant stated he nonetheless believes William Quarm stole money from his department in North Uist, Scotland, in a rare declare to the Post Office Inquiry. But he failed to present correct proof to the probe for his causes – and was accused of being too busy with “dog walks and carols”.

Mr Grant needed to be hauled earlier than the Inquiry on Wednesday to present proof as he claimed his “time was limited” as he needed to concentrate on his present job on the Salvation Army. He had submitted a “minimum” witness assertion that was simply over two pages.

He was grilled over the prosecution of William Quarm, who was convicted in 2010 and ordered to hold out 150 hours of unpaid work. Mr Quarm died two years later aged 69, not figuring out that he would finally be cleared. His conviction was lastly quashed within the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh final 12 months.

Mr Quarm’s spouse Anne, 72, stated her husband died a “broken man” when he was convicted of embezzling 1000’s of kilos from his Post Office in North Uist. “My husband pleaded guilty because he was told he was going to jail if he didn’t. He was a broken man and very upset and not well, as it later turned out,” she informed the Daily Record.

“I promised him I would try my very best to clear his name and asked for him to forgive anyone who had done him wrong and to go in peace. He agreed to do that and that was a blessing.”

Asked by Counsel to the Inquiry Jason Beer KC whether or not he nonetheless thought Mr Quarm was responsible of embezzlement, Mr Grant stated: “In my mind, I still think Mr Quarm had a role to play in the loss of the money.” Pressed on whether or not he thinks he was “guilty of the crime”, he replied: “Yes I do.”

But Mr Grant denied that was his cause for not relating to the inquiry as a precedence. Challenged concerning the shortness of his witness assertion, Mr Grant stated he his “time was limited” as he defended not prioritising the inquiry.

“My current role is I work in a homeless centre for a Christian organisation – it has 30 residents in it,” he stated. “I am the programme manager… Part of the role is to ensure that at that time of the year, December in a Christian calendar, there are a lot of activities going on.”

“We were, at that point, five members of staff short. I was working somewhere in the region of 10 to 11-hour days – I was going home, walking my dog and at the same time.” He added that he has to house-hunt after being requested to vacate his property by the tip of December, in addition to “then having to prepare a detailed statement of my memory from the time of employment, which was 16 years ago, to any involvement in any Post Office investigation”.

He additionally lamented that “there was nobody paying me the salary to do the work that we’re here talking about today”. Mr Grant solely appeared on the inquiry in particular person “under the threat of the exercise of compulsory powers” after being served a bit 21 discover.

During the proof session, Mr Grant was requested about interrogating Mr Quarm after he had skilled minor strokes from the earlier 12 months. During one interview in 2008, the Inquiry heard that Mr Grant’s proof instructed that Mr Quarm was “dazed and not understanding the questions put to him”. He then took his every day treatment and confirmed he was match to proceed.

Mr Beer learn out a part of his assertion the place it says Mr Grant later suspended the interview “due to the health condition of Mr Quarm and the inability to contact anyone in authority because of the remote location of the branch”.

At the tip of his proof, Mr Grant appeared to grow to be emotional as he stated for his “part” within the scandal, he was “humbly sorry”. In a private assertion, he stated: “The Post Office let postmasters down, they let the staff who they employed down by being less than open and honest with information that should have been shared, wasn’t shared and the ultimate result has led to significant upset and significant difficulties for people who were left behind.

“They deceived me and so they deceived an terrible lot extra folks. For my half in it, I’m humbly sorry. I simply hope folks do study from this.”

More than 700 branch managers were prosecuted by the Post Office after Fujitsu’s faulty accounting software, Horizon, made it look as though money was missing from their shops. The saga prompted an outcry across the country after it was dramatised in the ITV collection Mr Bates vs The Post Office earlier this month.

Hundreds of subpostmasters are awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.