Ben Foat
Dear Post Office Limited,Can you please confirm what date Ben Foat started work at POL and what posts he has held?
Yours faithfully,
john o'sullivan
Our ref: FOI2022/00592
Dear John O'Sullivan,
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 24th
August. Your request is being considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
The Act requires that a response must be given promptly, and in any event
within 20 working days. We will therefore reply at the latest by 22nd
September.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
Yours sincerely,
Jackie Lawrence
Information Rights Team
Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street
London, EC2Y 9AQ
Dear John O'Sullivan,
Please find attached the response relating to your Freedom of Information
request.
Regards,
Data Protection and Information Rights Team
Finsbury Dials
20 Finsbury Street
London
EC2Y 9AQ
[1][email address]
Post Office Limited is committed to protecting your privacy, information
about how we do this can be found on our website at
www.postoffice.co.uk/privacy
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
Dear [email address],Thank you for a reply.Can you explain why The Post Office Corporate site Executive Team page tells us Ben was appointed to General Counsel of Post Office Limited in May 2019 but all other individuals have the date they joined the Post Office prominent in their listing.It is just that in June 2020 Nick Read told a Select Committee"Ben was appointed to General Counsel of Post Office Limited in May 2019."This statement and your Corporate website are at odds with your reply.Why is this?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Dear Mr O'Sullivan,
Thank you for making us aware of this issue and I apologise for the delay in responding. We have raised this internally and are looking into it.
Kind regards,
Information Rights
Data Protection and Information Rights Team
Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street
London, EC2Y 9AQ
postoffice.co.uk
Dear information.rights,Thank you for a reply,What do you mean by the expression" making us aware"?Surely Nick Read's letter to the BEIS Select Committee of 16th June 2020, did not write itself and the Post Office's General Counsel must have given it the once-over?Similarly what is meant by the word "issue"?Do you feel Ben's listing in the Corporate Site's failure to mention a start date when everyone elses does is an oversight or deliberate?I would be amazed if he hadnt taken a peek at his bio given his legal background and justifiable pride in his promotion and wondered why his is different-perhaps you can ask him if he had spotted the difference?Or anyone else at all in the Post Office?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Dear information.rights,Ben was appointed to General Counsel of Post Office Limited in May 2019.Six months on there is still no mention of when Ben starting working in the Post Office Legal Department.Can you say what happened when you raised the matter internally and had it looked into?What was the outcome or decision taken concerning providing an accurate description of Ben's time with POL(Like all the other Board members)rather than a bland description of one post he holds?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Dear information.rights," Thank you for making us aware of this issue and I apologise for the delay in responding. We have raised this internally and are looking into it".Can you say what you have discovered after looking into Ben Foat's listing on your Corporate Web Page.As your thanks was from Sept 2022 you might want to consider this a new FOI-why unlike other Board Members does Ben not have the start of hos POL employment mentioned?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Dear John O'Sullivan,
Thank you for your email.
As you have not made a request for recorded information, as outlined in section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we have passed your email on to the relevant team, who will be in touch with you shortly.
With kind regards,
Information Rights Team
100 Wood Street
London
EC2V 7ER
postoffice.co.uk
Dear Mr O’Sullivan
Thank you for your enquiry of 21 June.
We are making enquiries into this matter, and we will respond as soon as
these are complete.
Yours sincerely
Michael
Michael Norman
Corporate Affairs, Brand & Communications
[1]Logo, company name Description automatically generated
Post Office Limited is committed to protecting your privacy, information
about how we do this can be found on our website at
[2]www.postoffice.co.uk/privacy
Post Office Limited is committed to protecting your privacy. Information
about how we do this can be found on our website at
www.postoffice.co.uk/privacy
References
Visible links
2. http://www.postoffice.co.uk/privacy
Dear externalaffairs,Have you been able to find out why Ben's Bio excludes the vital information that he has worked in your Legal Department since 2015?You have had a couple of years to update this.Is the failure to do so because it isn't important or it is important?I notice he is giving evidence on Legal Ethics today,regards John
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Dear external affairs,The subject of Ben Foat's misleading career bio and Nick Read's statement to a BEIS Select Committe stretch back to June 2020!On 23 Sept 2023 you said"Thank you for making us aware of this issue and I apologise for the delay in responding. We have raised this internally and are looking into it."Since then the bio has remained unchanged.Why?Is Ben Foat aware it is misleading,giving the impression he joined in 2019 and was not involved in the CIT,Bates v POL,recusal of Justice Fraser attempt,Angela and Paula BEIS 2015?Has Ben prevented POL from updating his Bio to remove the confusion?Has POL decided it doesnt need alteration?Who investigated the matter internally and decided I dont need an answer or the details of Ben's Post Office Legal Career made clear?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
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