G. Kanter-Webber
Date
4 August 2023
request-998393-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Post Office
100 Wood Street,
London, EC2V 7ER
Classification:
Public
Dear G. Kanter-Webber,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI2023/00394
We are writing in response to your email received by Post Office Limited (“
Post
Office”) on 4 July, 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:
“
You will no doubt be aware of the scandal which has engulfed your
organisation regarding the use of inappropriate racial epithets on
investigation paperwork: see eg
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/27/post-office-horizon-
inquiry-used-racist-term-for-black-people-documents-show
I gather that the offensive document has now been withdrawn and
replaced. Pursuant to FOIA, please can you provide me with the following
in an electronic format:
(1) The document which replaced the offensive document.
(2) The date on which that replacement took place.
(3) If different from (1) and (2) above, the version currently in use and its
date.
As you know, FOIA makes it a legal requirement for you to respond to this
request within 20 working days, confirming whether or not you hold the
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postoffice.co.uk
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
Registered Office 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7ER
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited.
requested information and, if you hold it, providing a copy - unless a
statutory exemption applies. You do not have a discretion about whether
or not to respond within an FOIA framework.”
We can confirm that Post Office does hold the information you have requested and
have provided the answers below.
We would like to add that Post Office does not tolerate racism in any form and an
investigation is taking place into how the offensive descriptors came to be included
in the Identity Code document. The latest update on the investigation can be found
on our website here:
https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/blogs/2023_06/update-on-investigation-into-
historical-document-containing-racist-and-offensive-language/
Post Office stopped undertaking private prosecutions of Postmasters in 2015, and
thus, identification codes for Police National Computer records have not been
required. The Identity Code document that was previously disclosed under
FOI2023/00205, has not been replaced and therefore there is no date for a
replacement document and no further version to disclose.
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
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
https://ico.org.uk
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postoffice.co.uk
Classification: Public
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: Public
