Davey 'sorry' for rebuffing meeting with Post Office The Rt.IT scandal campaigner

SIR Ed Davey apologised yesterday for his "poorly judged" and "terse" refusal to meet Post Office scandal campaigner Sir Alan Bates for five months.

- Josh Payne and William Warnes

The Liberal Democrat leader, who was Postal Affairs Minister from 2010 to 2012, said he dismissed the meeting proposal because he "followed the advice and did not question it".

More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions from 1999 to 2015, as Fujitsu's faulty Horizon IT system made it appear money was missing at their branches.

The probe heard that after a letter from Sir Alan said the Post Office was acting as "judge, jury and executioner", Sir Ed replied: "I do not believe a meeting would serve any useful purpose." He denied he eventually met Sir Alan in October 2010 due to "presentational reasons", but told the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry he was "deeply sorry" for those whose lives were ruined.