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Monday 8 January 2024

They were all lying to me



'They were all lying to me': defiant Lib Dem ex-minister Ed Davey insists civil servants and Post Office misled him over Horizon scandal amid questions over his role in miscarriage of justice - as PM backs call for company boss to lose CBE

In a TV interview today Sir Ed insisted he had been misled by those around him when he backed the prosecutions.

'I wish I'd known then what we all know now - the Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers,' he told Sky News.

'When I met Alan Bates and listened to his concerns, I put those concerns to officials in my department, to the Post Office, to the National Federation of Postmasters. And it's clear they all were lying to me.


Unfortunately we've reached a situation where it isn't sensible to assume that "Sir" Ed is being strictly truthful here. 

The default assumption for political leaders is that they do not place much value on veracity, especially when their personal status is threatened. It's not a good situation, but it's where we are. "Sir" Ed has played his part in steering us here.

10 comments:

Sam Vega said...

After Sir Keir's shock departure for America on an RAF transport plane, Deputy PM Sir Ed Davey said:
"Yes, it's definitely looking very bad, and our critics are right - the country is now ruined. But it's clear that I have been lied to. By President Xi, Mr. Putin, President Trump, the whole of the EU, my cabinet `(especially Sir Keir himself) the civil service, the electorate, and some Nigerian gentleman who said his uncle was in prison and needed my bank account to deposit a ton of money. Oh, and the Radio 4 racing tipsters."

A K Haart said...

Sam - ha ha, he's going to have trouble with this one. Whether he was lied to or not, it's a very weak and gullible look. Not that Lib Dems have anything against gullibility though.

Scrobs. said...

There was always going to be a problem for him as he looks like Wayne Rooney, without the money...

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - I hadn't noticed that, but he does. All of Ed's goals are own goals though, so there is that difference.

Tammly said...

So was Ed Davey lied to about 'climate change' or has he been utterly misled by all those around him, advising him? Or is he just an opportunist, grifting git?

A K Haart said...

Tammly - I'll go for opportunist, grifting git.

Doonhamer said...

But his Climate Scientists advisors are paragons of veracity.
Maybe his former employer lied as well
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20230930/281792813658503
I wonder how often his zero carbon lithium underwear spontaneously combusts.

A K Haart said...

Doonhamer - "Testing the zero carbon lithium underwear was an operational matter and I was assured by those responsible that it was all perfectly safe if used correctly," Sir Ed claimed.

Anonymous said...

"When I met Alan Bates, and listened to his concerns ....." .
I understood that Davey told Mr Bates that a meeting would not be fruitful. If so, when, and how long into the investigation of the Post Ofgice, did this meeting take place? When Davey was, allegedly, lied to, did he not think of questioning or challenging those lies, after all politics is full of lies and semi truths, and challenging them is par for the course. I would suggest that Davey has a little bit more explaining to do.
Penseivat

A K Haart said...

Penseivat - telling Mr Bates that a meeting would not be fruitful does imply the possibility that Davey wished to distance himself from what was going on, having had a hint of it from elsewhere. I hope he has more explaining to do.