Broadcast journalist. Author of ‘Depp v Heard: the unreal story’ and ‘The Great Post Office Scandal’. DMs open. Gender is performative. Sex is corporeal.
Updated live events page for my Post Office Scandal "tour" in March - May.
More Subpostmaster guests confirmed. One night already sold out.
Please do have a look. Sorry if there are no venues near you.
#PostOfficeScandal
#MrBatesvsThePostOfffice
Good photo of Alan Bates. I should know. I took it, when there weren’t that many people interested in the
#PostOfficeScandal
. Now the
@Telegraph
have stolen it. I asked them to contact me last week when they used it without permission. They didn’t.
Update: I've been contacted by the
@Telegraph
- an apology has been made and a fee has been agreed which recognises the unauthorised uses of this image. On receipt, I will donate the fee to the Horizon Scandal Fund (
@HSFforSPMs
). Thanks to all for their comments.
Good photo of Alan Bates. I should know. I took it, when there weren’t that many people interested in the
#PostOfficeScandal
. Now the
@Telegraph
have stolen it. I asked them to contact me last week when they used it without permission. They didn’t.
Thank you all so much for the donations to the Horizon Scandal Fund. I rarely ask anyone to retweet, but we are keen to reach as many people who need help as possible. We are there to help ANYONE IN NEED affected by the Post Office scandal.
Delighted to let you know that after our 2022 Panorama into the Post Office Scandal got more than a million viewers after the ten o'clock news last night, the BBC have restored our 2015 Panorama investigation to the iPlayer - Trouble At The Post Office:
This is a summary of the most explosive moment in the Depp v NGN trial so far. It concerns the cross-examination and re-examination of Kate James, a former personal assistant to Amber Heard. To set the scene:
Kate James was giving evidence via videolink from LA. We were...
THREAD: On 29 Jan I got an email from someone I’d never met or spoken to before. We have been corresponding since and today we had our first chat. Anna (not her real name) is a former Subpostmaster. She is still fighting for compensation and has what she perceives as clear...
1/
Holy Moly - Post Office are contacting 540 criminalised Subpostmasters and others whose convictions might be unsafe. Given it prosecuted 736 and 45 have already had their convictions overturned we’re now into slam dunk biggest potential miscarriage of justice ever.
The Post Office and govt are still trying to f*** over the Subpostmasters.
They f***ed them over once by sacking and prosecuting them.
They f***ed them over again by trying to cover it up.
Now they’re f***ing them on compensation.
More here:
The judgment in Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd will be handed down remotely at 10am on Monday 2 November 2020.
The judgment will be available on the Judiciary website at 10am, along with a press summary.
Nothing will be taking place physically at the Royal Courts of Justice.
In court 38 of the Royal Courts of Justice - watching court 13 on videolink. Johnny Depp is in the building having arrived in a silver people carrier wearing a black facemask. He is suing The Sun’s parent group NGN after an article was published calling him a “wife beater”...
Just finished Trans by
@HJoyceGender
. Phenomenal primer which methodically points out the logical flaws of extreme gender ideology and the harms it is visiting on children, vulnerable women and female sport.
Thanks to
@HighwaterEllen
for the recommendation.
On Thursday
@TalkTV
broadcast recordings of the serving Post Office Director of Communications insinuating campaigning Subpostmasters were thieves and denying the Horizon IT system had caused holes in their accounts. He's now been suspended.
This is HUGE. First the Post Office sets up a compensation scheme which screws Subpostmasters on tax liabilities.
Today we find they use compensation payments to minimise the PO's tax liabilities AND maximise the CEO's bonus.
NEW: Johnny Depp has FAILED in his application to appeal the libel judgment which found The Sun newspaper’s allegation he engaged in domestic violence against Amber Heard was “substantially true”.
Morning from Fairfax County Court! I got here nice and early. Which means I’m am freezing cold. Sun is coming up though and I am making friends.
#deppvheard
Holy sh*t. The Post Office applied a senior executive bonus metric about its work on the Post Office Inquiry (without informing the inquiry). Then it used false information to say it had achieved the metric and awarded the executive bonuses, whilst implying...
For those interested the Depp v NGN libel trial, I am afraid I have no news. There has not been any indication from the High Court as to when the judgment might be handed down (and I checked with some good sources today). As soon as I know something, I’ll tell you.
#DeppvNGN
And a massive thank you to everyone who has donated, tweeted, supported, helped, offered to help, said hello, critiqued my lunch etc etc. It’s been a unique experience and I’m very grateful. I’m sorry I can’t see it out, but such is life.
All best
Nick
Parmod’s story is heartbreaking. He is the most genuine decent man I have ever met. The government has sided with the Post Office over the courts in refusing to give Parmod compensation. His eyesight is failing. He has cancer. Help him.
Parmod - who was on
@GMB
below - is a truly lovely man, and his story is terribly sad.
He never received the compensation he deserved as Post Office pressured him into settling due to the unusual circumstances of his case.
We covered his story in April last year:
Update from Maya!
This morning I gave a talk to the sixth form at Verulam School in St Albans. This is the second talk I have given at a school (the first one was to South Hampstead High School in London).
I took that photo of Alan Bates. The
@Telegraph
used it without permission last week. I wrote to their picture desk to tell them about it. They did not reply. They’re using it again to illustrate their journalism. I guess they think stealing my work is okay.
It is not difficult to see why the
#PostOfficeScandal
is entering the second month after
@itv
drama Bates V Post Office still hitting headlines. The Govt is coming out of this v poorly
#justice
#injustice
Every time I think I can’t be shocked by the Post Office’s behaviour… THIS WAS IN 2019! Whilst the post office was trying to litigate Alan Bates into the ground in the High Court. Thanks
@carolvorders
who has pursued this superbly and
@stugoo17
for the spot.
‘I couldn’t look after my daughter I was in such a bad place…’
Former post office owner Sally tells
@carolvorders
of her experience with the Horizon scandal and its impact on her health and relationships.
Hi - I can confirm I will be live-tweeting the Depp v NGN appeal application hearing tomorrow.
It will begin at 1000 GMT in Court 71 of Royal Courts of Justice in London. It is being broadcast live, for free on YouTube. Link to follow.
Three years ago,
@bathpublishing
were the only people who would take on the legal and financial risk of publishing a book about The Great Post Office Scandal. Now they're being interviewed by the BBC. David, Helen and Hannah have been wonderful. I wish them every success.
If you fancy reading the first four days' transcripts of the Johnny Depp v NGN libel trial, I’ve posted them up on my website. I think this is a world exclusive, which is nice.
Hi all. I’ll be back at the High Court at 9.30am BST tomorrow live-tweeting Day 10 of the Depp v NGN libel trial. It is my last day of live-tweeting. Amber Heard starts giving evidence at 10am BST. Should be interesting.
Thirteen years ago today I did my first piece for the BBC on the Post Office scandal. I interviewed Davinder Misra whilst his wife Seema was still in prison. At the time he didn’t tell me about being beaten up outside his home because he was still scared.
BBC One o'clock news has just done a whole report on this story calling the murderer a "woman" and "she" throughout. Doesn't even bother explaining that "she" is both biologically and legally a man. Madness.
Blistering letter from a superb journalist to a newspaper which has lost its way on gender/trans issues and, conjointly, its grip on reality. As
@louisetickle
says:
"It was a man who committed this murder. Not a woman."
Hope all those smug artists, actors, musicians and comedians who tore into
@jk_rowling
et al will one day have the good grace to put their hands up and admit they were wrong.
#cassreport
Update: I've been contacted by the
@Telegraph
- an apology has been made and a fee has been agreed which recognises the unauthorised uses of this image. On receipt, I will donate the fee to the Horizon Scandal Fund (
@HSFforSPMs
). Thanks to all for their comments
I took that photo of Alan Bates. The
@Telegraph
used it without permission last week. I wrote to their picture desk to tell them about it. They did not reply. They’re using it again to illustrate their journalism. I guess they think stealing my work is okay.
Johnny Depp v NGN hearing at the Court of Appeal set for 18 March. This is NOT a full appeal, it is a hearing to seek PERMISSION to appeal. A decision is unlikely on the day:
A hearing, is in itself, relatively unusual. But don’t read anything into that!
For those following the Depp v NGN case, I am hoping to be in court for the hearing on 18 March. I should find out if I can be there next week. I don't know anything more than that. I can't answer any questions about the hearing. Sorry. I'll let you know more when I know more!
The tantalising possibility that a former Subpostmaster in Cornwall has concrete evidence of fraudulent back end transactions taking money out of her branch account in 2012/2013.
#PostOfficeScandal
Thanks to everyone who’s followed and been reading and retweeting over the last week. I’ve just had a look at the stats and I’ve received 50 million page impressions in 7 days, with more than 1000 replies a day. Apologies if I don’t get a chance to reply back!
Noel Thomas, who works at the Holland Arms Garden Centre in Wales was welcomed back to Anglesey with a small party, after his conviction for stealing from his Post Office was overturned at the Court of Appeal last Friday. The way this man was treated should shame us all.
On the final day of the Depp v NGN trial, Johnny Depp’s QC referred to Annex X, a document which wasn’t quite ready at the start of the day. As a result it wasn’t issued to the media with the closing skeleton and other annexes. I now have it and it’s a 230 page whopper.
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of a large number of crowdfunders I am now in a position to cover the Depp v Heard trial at Fairfax County Court in Virginia on 11 April. It happened far more quickly than I ever could have expected - six days! I am grateful.
1/
Hi all. I am afraid this is another “no news” tweet. There is still NO date set for the Depp v NGN judgment to be handed down. The only thing I can say with any certainty is that it definitely won’t happen next week. So we’re looking at anything from 26 October to past Xmas...
Depp v NGN update: as you know, the High Court judge who found against Johnny Depp after the recent Depp v NGN libel trial refused him an opportunity to appeal the judgment at the High Court, on the basis the appeal had no “reasonable prospect of success.”...
Blistering letter from a superb journalist to a newspaper which has lost its way on gender/trans issues and, conjointly, its grip on reality. As
@louisetickle
says:
"It was a man who committed this murder. Not a woman."
Hi all. Tomorrow I will (hopefully) get the Depp v NGN judgment at 1000GMT. It is being posted on the UK judiciary website () and likely
I’ll be tweeting excerpts as soon as the ruling is made public...
Hello. Another world exclusive for you follows. I have the NGN and Wootton response to Johnny Depp’s application for permission to appeal the UK High Court ruling against him.
Always said to myself that one day the
#PostOfficeScandal
would be front page news. Today, for the first time, it is. The effect of that long wait is writ large in the headline.
She wants other Subpostmasters to know they’re not alone and that she is standing with them. And she is determined to get proper redress for what happened to her.
ENDS
Here is the exact quote from Kate James on Amber Heard.
David Sherborne: Was she the first well known person you had worked with in Hollywood?
Kate James: She is probably the least known person I’ve ever worked with in Hollywood, to be honest.
Lord Arbuthnot applied for this job when it came up in 2022 and didn’t even get an interview. Staunton was woeful at the select committee last year when trying to defend the executive team. Arbuthnot should have been appointed chair. The Post Office needs root and branch reform.
Mildly surprised the suspension of a serving Post Office senior exec for insinuating campaigning Postmasters were thieves and Horizon didn’t cause errors in branch accounts hasn’t got more traction. V happy to talk about this!
On Thursday
@TalkTV
broadcast recordings of the serving Post Office Director of Communications insinuating campaigning Subpostmasters were thieves and denying the Horizon IT system had caused holes in their accounts. He's now been suspended.
Pathetically proud of the work I did on this. Thrilled
@bryanglick
commissioned it. V grateful to
@Karlfl
for his uncredited extra help on fact-checking. This was pre-inquiry.
If you're wondering how or why the Horizon IT system from Fujitsu helped cause the
#PostOfficeScandal
this 2021 article for
@ComputerWeekly
by
@nickwallis
might help.
Includes the amazing quote: "Everybody in the building knew it was a bag of shit”
I have put the Johnny Depp Grounds of Appeal and Skeleton Argument up on my website here:
Remember if you are using Safari or a pop-up blocker, click on the symbol in your address bar to allow the document to appear.
To the dear patient followers who took an interest in my coverage of Depp v NGN - I am hoping to crowdfund my way to the US to cover the Depp v Heard trial in April. I have a visa and a flight, but…
(tl;dr - the tip jar is open once more):
If you’d like to know more about the
#PostOfficeScandal
, including the latest revelations from the public inquiry, come and see me talk about it in Spring. Many dates already have special guests confirmed. More here:
#MrBatesVsThePostOffice
One of the single most important pieces of journalism on the Post Office in recent months. Staunton’s candour (if he’s telling the truth) reveals the entrenched attitudes behind the govt/PO facade.
Welcome to Day 10 of the Depp v NGN libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice. He is suing the Sun newspaper after they called him a "wife-beater". RCJ looking good in the sunshine.
I’ll definitely, definitely be back in court tomorrow. Proceedings start 10am BST. We’re going to get at least a morning of Johnny Depp before he finishes giving evidence, then we’ll have evidence from up to 5 witnesses (but much more likely 3) for JD.
Morning all. I have used the weekend to catch up as best as I am able with the documentation around Depp v NGN. I have now publised all the available witness statements to a single page of my website. Thanks to those who pointed out those I’d overlooked. Isaac Baruch, Travis...
There is a lot of noise around former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells after the serving Post Office minister called for her to hand back her CBE. If you want to read the full story about Vennells and her cronies, please start here:
#PostOfficeScandal
If you are a Subpostmaster/worked in a Post Office and you are struggling in ANY way, please look at the Horizon Scandal Fund website, a registered charity set up to help victims of the scandal and similarly affected family members. Applying is simple:
“I’ll never forget the last hour as long as I’m in broadcasting” - the peerless
@NickyAACampbell
brought a group of Subpostmasters into the studio and heard their stories. So powerful. Do listen:
ITV at 9.00, the first of a four part dramatisation of the most widespread miscarriage of justice in English legal history. Hundreds of lives ruined, no one yet called to account. It will make your blood run cold then boil. Mr Bates And The Post Office
#PostOfficeScandal
Hello and welcomento day 4 of Johnny Depp's libel action against The Sun newspaper (or Depp v NGN and Wootton to be precise. The Royal Courts of Justice look amazing but it's a very tricky building to photograph as it's so huge.
Now political hacks are getting interested in the Post Office scandal - there are two people you may find interesting: Jo Swinson - who allowed the PO to sack their independent investigators, and Jack Straw’s wife Alice Perkins, former PO chairman:
Good morning from the queue outside Fairfax County Court to get into
#DeppvHeard
week 2. It’s 7am. Proceedings will commence in three hours time. After breakfast.
We're into next level stuff here. Second Sight investigator Ian Henderson (
@forensicgod
) has asserted Paula Vennells was straight up "lying" to Parliament (as he sat next to her) in 2015 when she said there was "no evidence" of miscarriages of justice at the Post Office...
Seema Misra - sent to prison nearly 10 yrs ago on 11 Nov 2010, has just been told the Post Office will not contest her appeal. She is now almost guaranteed to get her conviction quashed.
What a battle this woman has had.
#PostOfficeScandal
… for one of kindest men in Hollywood - so no
DS and before you worked for AH were you used to working for well known people
KJ I would say that out of the people I have worked for AH is the least well known of all of them
Holy bananaballs. This is a genuine photo taken at Crewe railway station
@WHSmith
by the legendary
@IndiCamm
. The lady at the till apparently said they’d been “flying out”. This will make my publisher and the trustees of
@HSFforSPMs
v happy. Thanks to India for the shot. Amazing.
I have received an apology and payment offer from the
@Telegraph
which I have accepted and will donate to the Horizon Scandal Fund (
@HSFforSPMs
). Thanks all for your comments.
There is one thing I have learned about this story. You are only, on average, about a week away from a fresh outrage. Now they’re coming pretty much every day.
Worried about compassion/news agenda fatigue?
Not with the
#PostOfficeScandal
!
It really is that bad.
I am live-tweeting the Johnny Depp v NGN trial. All my work is crowdfunded.
First week transcripts here:
An explanatory blog post here:
And the crowdfunding tip jar here:
Thank you for your support.
QC ecstasy is sometimes knows as happy pills - sometimes you get a pill with a little smiley face on it don't you?
JD: I don’t know. It sounds like you’re more familiar with it than I am.
[laughter in the reporter’s room.]
Judge - Ms Wass is just asking questions Mr Depp...
I've been told it shouldn't be a problem getting into the spillover court to live-tweet the Johnny Depp v NGN trial tomorrow. As I'm not currently assigned to an outlet i can stay all day. It's (99%) on.
It’s also my 15th wedding anniversary today. Where better to spend it than in court watching the multimillion pound fallout from an extraordinary marriage. It was a lot hotter here in England 15 years ago. Today is a bit grey.
accept my apologies if I don’t respond.
Winona Ryder is here tomorrow. I’ll come back if there’s an appetite for more - which judging by the tweets and comments there is.
… confidential statement that AH has made?
KJ no
DS why did you take exception to what AH said in her 5th witness statement
KJ because she took a story about ME being violently raped in Brazil 26 years ago and she twisted it into her own story and she used it for her own use.
Delighted
@SeemaMisra7
will be joining me on stage in Guildford. Seema was sent to prison, whilst pregnant, on her eldest son's 10th birthday, for a crime she didn't commit. Seema and her husband Davinder fought for years before her conviction was quashed.
Have you been watching
#MrBatesVsThePostOffice
?
Based on the infamous true story of the sub-postmasters who were falsely accused of theft and fraud.
Don't miss the opportunity to get the inside story with expert
@nickwallis
, live with us on Wed 15 May.
Good morning. I will be back in court 38 of the Royal Courts of Justice at 10am to cover the last dregs of Johnny Depp’s re-examination in the Depp v NGN libel trial at the High Court.
Welcome to court 38 of the Royal Courts of Justice for Day 6 of the Johnny Depp v NGN libel trial at the UK. He is suing the publisher of the The Sun newspaper for libel after it claimed he was a “wife-beater”
It’s Wednesday 15 July and we’re back at the Royal Courts of Justice for Day 7 of the Johnny Depp v NGN libel trial. He is suing the publisher of the The Sun newspaper for libel after it claimed he was a “wife-beater”
A. She was probably the least known person I have ever worked for in Hollywood, to be honest.
MR. SHERBORNE: Thank you very much, Ms. James. I have no further questions.
If you want to have a read of everything - it’s all here - including Kate James’ statements and today’s transcript:
Thanks again for all the tweets and tips. Goodnight.
Mr Depp’s representatives have filed two documents to the Court of Appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, England, seeking leave to appeal Mr Justice Nicol’s High Court ruling.