F.S. Haughton
Date
31 October 2023
request-996724-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Post Office
100 Wood Street
London EC2V 9ER
Your Ref:
Classification:
Public
Dear F.S. Haughton,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI2023/00377
We are writing in response to your email received by Post Office Limited (“
Post
Office”) on 29 June, which has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“
FOIA”).
In your email you have requested the information shown in bold below:
“
In the recent case where Mrs Joanne O'Donnell's husband, Ian O'Donnell
applied to appeal the court's 2007 decision against Mrs O'Donnell and
where the Post Office instructed lawyers to oppose the appeal, what fees
and disbursements have or will be paid to the instructed lawyers acting
for the Post Office in this case.”
We can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request.
Please note, this information is correct as of 4 September 2023 and includes the
work undertaken at the following three stages:
• Stage 1: £1,166.50. Responding to queries from the Criminal Cases Review
Commission (“
CCRC”) in the pre-appeal stage.
• Stage 2: £62,670. Following the CCRC referral to the Court of Appeal,
including work which was or would have been undertaken in the normal
course of responding to an appeal of a Post Office case, irrespective of the
unexpected enquiries that fall under the work at stage 3, detailed below. This
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Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
Registered Office 100 Wood Street, London WC2V 7ER
postoffice.co.uk
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited.
figure includes preparing for and attending the appeal hearing itself on 27
June 2023.
• Stage 3: £219,868.33. This stage arose through unexpected and case-
specific circumstances. The appeal hearing of the late Mrs O’Donnell was
originally listed for 21 December 2022. Shortly before that hearing, an
unexpected matter arose which necessitated its adjournment by the Court.
The adjournment enabled the legal representatives of the Post Office, and
those of the late Mrs O’Donnell, to undertake necessary and extensive factual
enquiries arising from this matter. Therefore, the fees at this stage were
incurred for the purpose of assisting the legal team of the late Mrs O’Donnell
and her family to identify and argue all possible grounds of appeal, to put
their case in the best possible light, and for Post Office to respond to those
grounds as directed by the Court. This figure also includes fees for
undertaking further, connected, enquires at the direction of the Court
following the appeal hearing on 27 June 2023, before it handed down its
judgment on 15 August 2023.
The fees paid to lawyers acting on behalf of Post Office is therefore a total of
£283,704.83.
You may find further context useful in relation to appeals. It is solely for the Court to
determine each case, irrespective of whether an appeal is conceded or opposed.
Post Office’s duty is to the Court, including following its directions. To date the
Court has handed down seven judgments related to Post Office prosecutions which
provide its reasonings and which are all publicly available. There is more
information about Post Office’s work on appeals on our website here:
https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/the-horizon-it-scandal/
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of this response, you do have a right to
request an internal review. You can do this by writing to the address above within
40 working days of receipt of this response stating your reasons for your internal
review request or alternatively, by emailing
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. If, having requested an internal review by Post Office, you are still not satisfied with
our response you also have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office
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postoffice.co.uk
Classification
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
www.ico.org.uk/foicomplaints
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights Team
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/governance/access-to-information/access-to-
information/
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
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postoffice.co.uk
Classification
