Exposing a Post Office saga with far reaching consequences in Knaresborough

The words ‘Post Office’ and ‘scandal’ have featured in countless headlines in recent years.

The prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters based on faulty information from a computer system is one of the biggest news stories of the decade.

Computer Weekly and then Private Eye first exposed the issue, highlighting the importance of newsroom investigations.

I have spent considerable time over the last year investigating a separate Post Office saga closer to home, which otherwise may have remained largely hidden.

Knaresborough Post Office closed last year and relocated three months later to new premises on the town’s High Street. Post Office Ltd appointed the same postmaster, Ankur Singh, after a public consultation.

That’s about as much as Post Office Ltd has said. It has consistently declined to answer questions.

There was more to it than that, but it’s doubtful whether it would have come to light if it weren’t for the Stray Ferret poring over documents, assessing the evidence and asking questions.

We revealed Mr Singh was sole director of Nottingham-based VPS PVT Ltd, which ran about a dozen post offices. It appointed a liquidator owing £253,000 to HMRC and £124,000 to other creditors three days after Post Office Ltd announced it planned to relocate Knaresborough Post Office.

After our coverage, Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, described the decision to reappoint Mr Singh as “astounding” and raised questions in Parliament.

Neighbouring postmaster Andrew Hart questioned whether Post Office Ltd’s process for deciding if a postmaster is fit and proper was flawed and has been campaigning on the issue ever since.

My latest update last week revealed the liquidator’s report said there was “no prospect” of creditors recovering any of the £378,000 owed. Many firms, including Depho Estates, the landlord of the building previously occupied by the post office, was among those left owed thousands of pounds.

This article highlights the importance of investigative local news in exposing issues that matter. There is no suggestion of criminal of activity, but the events have had widespread repercussions.

Nobody else in the Harrogate district tackles these issues as rigorously as we do.

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