Ian Hislop launches into livid Post Office pensions rant as ITV present thrown into chaos | UK | News | EUROtoday

Ian Hislop’s condemnation of the Government’s response to the Post Office scandal noticed ITV’s Peston present descend into chaos this week because the journalist went head-to-head with a Tory MP.

The Private Eye editor was embroiled in a fiery conflict with Jake Berry, the Conservative MP for Rossendale and Darwen, whereas discussing pensions awarded to bosses who obtained large payouts regardless of the miscarriage of justice for sub-postmasters and postmistresses on Peston yesterday.

He claimed Post Office chiefs had been “incentivised to make money”, which led to them “ignoring what was going on in the hope of getting better remuneration”, including they need to must return any bonuses they obtained as their staff had been charged and convicted attributable to IT software program errors.

In response, Mr Berry advised the Government may act by passing emergency laws limiting their taxpayer-funded pensions, eliciting a passionate response from Mr Hislop.

The satirist requested the previous minister why Conservatives could not “do it so long ago”, with staff’ lives having been ruined by prosecutions. After Mr Berry made the suggestion through the look on Wednesday night, a livid Mr Hislop claimed ministers had been solely appearing after ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office aired earlier this month.

He mentioned: The proven fact that it takes an ITV drama, and all of a sudden – having been instructed their total campaigning lives ‘that is very troublesome you may must go in entrance of a choose’ – [the Government says] tomorrow we’ll cross laws and also you’re all exonerated.

“It is absolutely fatuous for this Government to claim: ‘Hey, we’re really acting now’.”

He added that the Government did “nothing the whole time”, which left the Tory MP preventing to defend his occasion’s observe document.

Mr Berry claimed Mr Hislop’s assertion was “demonstrably complete and utter nonsense”, to which the editor replied: “Then why did you give her a CBE in 2019?”

The MP mentioned that “during the intervening period” earlier than the ITV drama concluded in 2019, a complete of £130 million had been paid out in compensation, however the remainder of his assertion was drowned out as Peston concluded for the night.

The Post Office rolled out the Horizon IT software program – developed by Japanese tech agency Fujitsu – in 1999 to handle monetary transactions, and, regardless of workers elevating alarm bells, lots of had been prosecuted for his or her errors.

While the Government has acted most swiftly since Mr Bates vs the Post Office precipitated a brand new wave of shock this month – with new legal guidelines promising to quash remaining convictions – it had additionally, in reality, acted earlier than then.

The High Court drew consideration to the key injustice in 2019 when it revealed the Horizon software program was guilty, and the Government ordered an inquiry into the controversy that 12 months.

But progress has been sluggish exterior of the courtroom, with solely 93 of 736 convictions quashed and little motion from ministers, who may have handed the legal guidelines earlier.