@@PaulDuckett I don't trust anyone who uses the words "robust", "impact", or "issues". The correct words in my opinion are reliable, effect/affect, and problems.
they not members they are victims of a con set up by post office .it a bit like reporting a crime to the cps .you could end up with a arrest if you bother the pigs too much.on what they already decised on the spot is reality with out talking to any one .
He reminded me of old time Stalinist activists. There is only one truth. And that is immutable for all time. Him and Bradshaw were a marriage made in wherever. Like Stalin and Beira. The dialectic reasoning stopped when they gained their position.
I hope there is some mechanism to takes George's considerable Union pension away from him. He seems to have done a lot of his members no favours. With 'friends' like George who needs enemies?!
@@ukdave57 I wonder if there isn't a claim for breach of duty owed by the NFSP to protect the convicted SPMs' interests. I still don't think Thomson could be held personally liable since the NFSP would almost certainly be vicariously liable for his actions, but I'd be delighted to be wrong about that.
Yep, I think self-reflection might be a bit too painful for him just now, but I think it will come to him eventually. These things have a happen of haunting us til we face it. Unless he is living in an echo chamber, he will likely have to have a bit of a rethink to make sense of why so many people have become so disappointed in him. p
What an embarrassment. As a Scot, I feel compelled to say, "We're no aw like that". He's behaving like the belligerent drunk that everyone tries to avoid if they have the misfortune to bump into him on a night out. He wasn't forced into it, he chose his master and that was the Post Office first and foremost while he betrayed the members who were depending on him. Thank you for another very good and fair analysis.
Thanks so much. Now you describe him that way, I think I know him a bit better :) He was always the guy at the late night bus stop that people tried desperately not to have eye contact with. :)
I cannot get over his stupidity in belligerently stating that there'd been prosecutions under the old system so prosecutions under Horizon were par for the course! He has COMPLETELY missed/ignored/evaded the very point of the enquiry..........is he THAT arrogant or THAT incredibly dumb - I think BOTH?!!
@@PaulDuckett I just couldn't believe his argument that because crimes were committed in the past therefore all 'crimes' with the new system had to automatically be valid crimes because there was a history of crimes with the old system. Tautological logic at best, wilful ignorance at the least! I reckon he's going to be pretty lonely down at the pub from now on! Cheers from Sydney!!
Before Horizon there was an average of 6 successful prosecutions each year. After it was over 50. Not to mention all the people who admitted false accounting to avoid jail
I sat through all of Georges testimony, increasingly open mouthed. His opinion was immovable against hard evidence. For to admit he was wrong would mean the history and achievements of his whole working life would be ruined.
Yep, no humilty. The key thing is to not consider that we might be wrong, but to actively seek out evidence that we might be wrong. That's what we are supposed to do in academia (though we dont!). And, on that I am certain I am not wrong ;) p
@@PaulDuckett Isn't it human nature to think one is correct? ....even when other people tell you and sometimes the evidence suggests you are not. History is littered with leaders who thought they were correct but events proved otherwise. Even in academia people search for the truth but egos & the drive for success impacts how people behave, and 'sometimes' I expect people end up with a version of the truth that suits their agenda. How do you teach a student about truth in the real world? There are consequences for speaking truth to power and a lot of people (myself included) have modified their actions based on the adage(s), 'Don't rock the boat' AND 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'. I suppose that's where integrity is important but integrity doesn't always put food on the table.
This is the problem with the dialectic method. Thesis.vs Antithesis.= Synthesis. And that's where most stop. But the Synthesis becomes the Thesis. And that is how progress happens.
@@sturner80wasn’t it a Union until they voted in favour of being bankrolled by POL? Federation, Union, Trade Association? I really don’t understand the semantics here. Could be me of course, but weren’t they supposed to (at the very very least) have some representation of the subpostmasters? Please enlighten me. Also, there has been a public statement from this body stating that in no way are this awful man’s opinions representative of theirs. So where does that leave them?
Yep, started as a combination of members fees and POL funding and then, following the deal he made with POL, turned to no membership fees (I think SPM were automatically made members) and funded by POL. Which looks awfully suspcious to me.
@@PaulDuckettThe funding had gone up more than inflation and membership volume. Did his salary in post increase by more than norm inflation or significantly increase when PO took over the entire donations and pay for everything?
George likes confrontation, he invites confrontation and belligerent is an understatement. He is actually very insecure and fears failure, so his fight response is kicking in even beyond rational decision making.
trust a bully to get into positions of power with a sales pitch but no substance to back it up, they tend to work in teams (gangs) of likeminded weaklings to intimidate and infiltrate, but when faced with challenges to fall flat on their faces! This is not exclusive to the Post Office either, we see this everywhere now.
Yes, I am afraid you are right. Bullies do seem to get promoted quite regularly. It's as though it's an essential skill for management jobs! Shouldn't be like that so we need to change it. p
Please keep going with your analysis of the Post Office Horizon enquiry. I was so angry at George's testimony ... Your analysis helps me understand how someone can be that blind to harsh realities
The thing I miss most amongst the witnesses that I've been able to observe is that not a single one of them comes across as being honest or remorseful, neither in their testimonies nor in any apologies, when they are given. They all seem to be reading from roughly the same script, and the only variations seem to be rooted in their individual personal mannerisms and characteristics.
Sadly that sort of personal ambition does drive too many of these folk in positions of authority. They shoudl be driven by duty, or at least duty should come first.
@@juliangauld7331 Fair comment, I didn't mean he is criminal. I may have used the wrong words but I do feel he should have been pulled up to show a bit more respect for everybody attending the inquiry.
I believe that as difficult as it may be to listen to, it is important to let everyone speak [preferably respectfully][, however much we disagree with or dislike what they are saying or inded how they are saying it. The rubbish spouted can strengthen the opposing argument and hopefully help to highlight and wipe out the non sense itself.
I'm glad he did. It shows what he is and what a lickspittle that organisation was for the post office management. Its good that we are seeing these people for what they are. Everyone who knows or encounters them now knows what they are.
Millions of ships have sailed and completed jobs across the world without any issue, a small number sank but that doesn't mean there is a problem with the idea of ships carrying things across the water. I am just angry the company that made the Titanic were unwilling to admit they built a ship that had faults and wouldn't admit it because it makes it look like all ships are fatally flawed. Also the captain is really the one at fault not the shipbuilders because he should have seen the iceberg in time, so its not the titanic ship itself that had a problem, it was built to be robust but the captain had his hand in the till when he should have been watching the seas. ugh.
George has abandoned his moral compass and thrown so many of his SPM’s under the bus. Their interests were simply ignored by a union which might otherwise have defended them and brought the mess to an earlier and happier conclusion. George was as much an enabler as the very many inadequate dissemblers at senior levels we’ve seen over the course of this enquiry. I wonder whether he’ll ever have a moment of introspection, a realisation of his actual role, not the version currently bouncing round his head?
With thick idiots like George Thomson, moments of introspection will be as rare as hen's teeth. I can only guess his belligerent attitude is well known by those around him i.e family and in his locality. I bet they all suffer in silence!
Brilliant. You analysed the absurdity of this witness. You understood the issues of this man and gave us reason and kindness - which he most certainly didn’t deserve.
The point was , he was no longer taking money from the Postmasters as they were stripped of their right to be a union and he was in hawk to the Post office , and those who paid the piper called the tune , and George sang Horizon's praises loudly and they paid him well for it .
Yep, and I think they would just stop paying. Which maybe NFSP recognised when they argued for free (automatic) membership into NFSP and POL would effectively pay the membership fees.[
George is the personification of a 'Company's Man' His loyalty and focus lay squarely with the Post Office and securing his own future! The members he was supposed to represent were secondary to that loyalty and still are. His belligerence was a thing to behold.
Yes, but I think the thing is he saw himself as a union man. Clearly it was not a union, but he seemed to pride himself as one of those old style socialists fighting for the worker. The title 'General Secretary' is kind of a hint as to how we saw himself and the NFSP, even though it was just a satellite of POL, kind of a wing of their HR and PR deparments.
Loving your metaphors Dr Duckett. George has his head firmly lodged somewhere the sun doesn't shine and is a classic example of fixed thinking, unable to budge even when the truth is slapping you in the face. It's his arrogance that really angers me. He couldn't care less about the SPs.
I did notice that when he got his five minutes to tell us what he claimed he’d been suppressed from saying during his evidence, he only repeated claims he had already made several times. So he hadn’t been suppressed. But these inquiries are not about witnesses “having their say”, it’s about giving evidence, based on their witness statement.
He forgot that he was in a room full of excellent attorneys.They already knew the answers to every question they asked him, so he completely destroyed his credibility. Nobody can place any reliance on his evidence.
An excellent overview. Pride is the perfect description of this man's faults and inability to be truthful. He's totally missing the point of the issue, all systems have bugs and need constant updates and fixes, but when they affect individuals at the level they did, these are not just minor or trivial faults with the system, they are of a high severity or critical ones which in this case led to reputational damage, a financial impact on the postmasters, legal implications and most importantly unfortunately caused ill health and death of employee - at this point they were not bugs to be overlooked and the system, and the business processes were not robust in the slightest. It just shows that in a work environment, this kind of character succeeds through a loud, bullish and pig headed attitude, but in an inquiry comes across as rude, untrustworthy, arrogant, incapable and dismissive.
Yep. Even disinfectant manufucaturers will admit that their product is not perfect (kills 99.99% of all germs). I.e., you may still end u getting sick from some bacteria this doesn't kill, so we are covering ourselves just in case that happens. :)
George is maybe not clever enough to look at his own behaviour. And certainly not able to put himself in someone elses position and look at it from another point of view. He was definitely not suitable for the job he held.
Yep, we call it reflexivity (seeing yourself through someone else's eyes) and is one of the main things I teach my students. it a very important skill for anyone who works in a position of authority. p
This is a great breakdown of this terrible, terrible human being. Made me ashamed to be Scottish when I watched it, I was gob smacked while Mr Blake was reading out his witness statement and getting a yes to him confirming what he put was correct. Pride definitely played a big part in his attitude as well as his attitude of always being right. For someone who didn’t know anything about how Horizon worked and that his position was to help the SPM’s its amazing he was so committed to be right. Oh and he just lives the sound of his own voice and a bully. Sitting there , lounging about with his shirt open was frustrating. At the end when he got his chance to talk, people were walking out, everybody should have done that! You deserve my subscription to your channel with this video, as you said at end , life’s about learning to be true to yourself and growing, he is lost and not sure he will ever realise he is.
I understand the sentiment, but I am not sure what he could be found criminally liable for. I would be very happy to be wrong, but I don't think he could be part of a conspiracy with POL to keep material evidence from SPMs during court proceedings - he didn't have the requisite knowledge and was not in a position to have such knowledge as he was not part of POL. As obnoxious as he is, and despite the responsibilities he failed to fulfil, he is probably one of the few recent witnesses to the inquiry who could give his evidence very safely - which is possibly one of the reasons it came out as it did.
What Tomson doesn't understand it that it is the outliers that can suffer from errors. The outlying errors are the hardest to solve and having seen GJ's testimony I'm not surprised that they didn't get fixed.
Thank you Paul for your insights, George was on a whole other level of pride for himself, the post office and fujitsu. I have recently learned the biblical quote " pride goeth before the fall" is actually "pride goeth before destruction". George is blessed by being so tone deaf he will never have the time to learn critical thinking or self-reflection of the destruction he contributed to creating. I appreciate your words and the look of your vlogs as I am educated by your analysis of events and look forward to your posts.
A fair & reasoned assessment of how easy it is for people of a certain type, to create & sustain an organisational narrative that is simply wrong, but outwardly which allows them to rationalise their dubious moral position. A lesson that the inquiry needs to publicise, because this will happen again.
If ever there was an inside man for the Post Office, this is what they would look and sound like. He was supposed to protect his members , he was in fact looking after himself and the Post Office.
He's what used to be called 'A Company Man' , an arm around your shoulder while pissing down your leg.Avoided by all except those that tolerated him to do their bidding.
I'm guessing that George was on the bonus gravy train too? I'd be interested to know his to know his remuneration when the funding to NPSPM was increased......
Yes, great question. Question that ask 'show me where the money went' are always among the best questions in these situations. Thanks so much for posting :)
The amazing, truly amazing thing about this enquiry is every day we are gobsmacked at the arrogance and lack of ability in these people... and every day it is worse, and you think you've seen the worst it can possibly, ever in any sane world be and we have hit the utter bottom...and yet next day it plummets even lower! It's beyond bad, its beyond staggeringly bad... I simply dont think there are superlatives enough left to adequately express the depths these people have plumbed.
He proved himself to be a complete clown, prideful petty and willfully blinkered to what was happening on his watch; I feel bad for anyone who had that man as their representative/protector. He was utterly filleted by one question though, near the end of his testimony along the lines of "Even if it was a very small number of people affected, it ruined the lives of those people. They were your members, why were you not looking out for them?"
He is delusional and that is so obvious by the way he keeps on trying to justify his decision making referring to issues in the past before the introduction of Horizon.
Well done Paul. Utter contempt for ALL postmasters (whether they were caught up in the Horizon scandal or not) is shown by Mr Thomson, not to mention his contempt for the Inquiry. And, this is the man who was supposed to support postmasters and not protect Post Office plc. You nicely break this down for us. Thank you. A postscript: I loved your 'I'm not a psychologist. . . . Actually, I am'!
This loathsome individual comprehensively betrayed the members of the association that he was paid to defend and represent. I sincerely hope that retribution finds him.
I would have liked to hear his answer to why he didn’t help SPMs who were targeted for prosecution. He admits that Horizon did make mistakes, so surely not all SPMs were guilty. And even the guilty are entitled to a defense. So why did he never do anything to help? George is too stupid to realize when to accept defeat. I suppose it’s harder for him because his job was to help and he didn’t even pretend to. Those who prosecuted SPMs did their jobs badly, but George didn’t even try to do his job.
I think he said that the NFSP didn't offer assistance to SPM's that were the subject of a prosecution. But he didn''t do anything to prevent others SPM's from suffering fate.
He's actually the type required by a Post Office that was preparing for privatization. Imagine if all this were behind a wall of "commercial confidentiality"!
Thank you for yet another very civilised commentary and analysis of the Post Office debacle. In many respects this reminds me of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster-- the same deep-rooted culture in the management of the business that ensured that those who had the authority to take action ignored or dismissed very clear warnings those at the "sharp end" (principally ships' masters) over a period of many months, resulting in the UK's worst peacetime maritime loss since the loss of the RMS Titanic. It was "institutional failure" of the worst kind in both cases. Thank you again-- I hope your academic work schedule will permit you to continue sharing your insights with us.
I've been trying to watch the whole interviews on the official enquiry channel but often they are so long and drawn out I don't have time. Thank you so much for your channel! Now I have found someone who is able to not only show the really important points, but also the huge bonus of a psychological break down, and all delivered with your delightful dry humour.....I'm loving it 🎉🎉🎉🎉
The Inquiry's now finished, and the powerful closing statements have sent me revisiting some of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on one's point of view) of the past few years. I remember Thomson's "testy-moany" sending my blood pressure sky-high at the time, but I've enjoyed your excellent analysis far more than I could ever have envisaged possible. Thank you and well done.
Dr Paul, rather than pride I sensed a deep-set anxiety, like a poorly socialised pit bull, and that his reaction under such circumstances is to come out always fighting by adopting "the best defence is offence" attitude. Every answer to even closed questions has to be further qualified and contextuatlised so that he controls the bear pit. I can only imagine working for or seeking assistance from him must have been an absolute nightmare of Ferguson-like hairdryer treaments.
So no-one else much will have any respect for him. One day he may realise that. But meantime those who want his kind on their side will use him. No principles. Pathetic but remunerative at times.. I've no patience for that self-seeking type.
Loved the sound of his own voice. He didn't have the imagination or willingness to understand that the NFSP did not have a binary choice, and that if it had supported affected SPMs as it was supposed to, the Horizon system would have worked a lot better much sooner and there would have been far fewer or no miscarriages of justice. But in his binary world view, wrongful criminal convictions were a price worth paying.
‘Empty barrels always make most noise’. George Thomson demonstrates he did not have the mental capacity to understand other people’s positions, so arrogantly stuck to the ‘Company’ line and therefore limited himself to simple narratives that ensures his own interests come first.
A brilliant analysis highlighting the 'two narratives' scenario and working out the bad apples metaphor. What George still doesn't get is that the potentially terrible cost of a bug, statistically rare as it may have been, should have been enough to query the system, try to replicate the error, and cure it. What he and the POL did was cover it up and blame the victims insinuating the rotten apples theory. His argument of statistical insignificance was, and is, wholly inapproriate here. Without it, the whole house-of-cards argument collapses. Liked and subscribed!
The overriding measure for this system is "fit for purpose" that's it! He did not accept his members view yet he accepted the management view....! He and the P.O. are complicit in this travisity. Rather than be honest he is focused on showing he is squeaky clean.....he acheived the opposite.
Yep. But the key question when someone says somethign is fit for purpose is - what pupose/ whose purpose. In this case, it was fit for purpose at the time because it appeared to be cheap (to keep shareholder happy) and gave POL the appearance of 'modernising' which increased the chances it could be successfully sold off by the government..
I have watched a few of your videos now and finally decided to do the subscribe thing 😊 This man was another one who was something else in this inquiry.
Seen many examples of this kind of arrogance. Where uneducated and unqualified men find an alternative route to power. The trade union officials where I worked. The councillors who got elected to my local council, via the UKIP or independent route. The shouty men who rant about everything wrong with the "system". Who think everything can be fixed using their "common sense".
@@maggiegray1698 I am describing specific individuals I have actually met, or followed in my local news. With similar behaviour. Kinda dumb comment really.
Yep, good comment. Maggie. you are right to confront stereotypes and generalisations but I also think that some people's behaviour does need to be called out and typed for what it is. So, you are both right :)
There are about 11,500 Post Offices, run by agents, with around 4,000 agents having been forced to pay back illusory shortfalls/sacked/prosecuted/civil preceedings for debt/bankruptcy. That's over a third affected over about 15 years, making a mockery of George's assertions about the vast majority. How was that thousands of carefully screened PO agents, many of whom had run PO businesses for ages, suddenly started 'thieving' tens of thousands of pounds of cash from the PO, without any evidence of where the cash had gone - no lavish gifts, Maseratis on the forecourt or taking 12 members of their families on a month's luxury cruise?
Those 2 factors always baffled me too: A sudden increase in alleged theft. No evidence of the accused having more money or possessions. There's an old American movie ("Double Dynamite" 1951) where a bank teller is falsely accused due to an adding machine that is faulty. The bank denied that machines can make mistakes!
Thomson seems to miss the point that you can't be tempted to "put your hand in the till" when the system reconciles your accounts every week and you are immediately liable for any shortfalls, "however caused". Stealing from yourself is never a tempting prospect. If the amounts had been quite small, the argument might just about have been plausible. but who "steals" £30,000, knowing that they will immediately rack up a £30,000 debt? What would be the point?
@@chrisbirmingham5132 Thank you for expressing this angle so succinctly. I'm screen-shooting it and sharing it with friends, acquaintances and I don't care about being a thorn in anyone's side. This is too important. Your comment sums up perfectly the case for the subpostmasters.
I wish the NFSP had been even more forceful in their condemnation of this vile character. He either had no idea what a trades union was supposed to do, or else he did know and chose to ignore it. The Post Office had MASSIVE support behind their position. They had millions to spend on lawyers. They did not need the additional support of the organisation which was supposed to be challenging and questioning them and sticking up for the individuals. He was utterly contemptuous of the inquiry, and couldn't even be bothered to wear a tie.
George the Union man ,well he was certainly going to support the Post Office Executive at all costs ,his salary, his power ,his importance all depended on him protecting the Organisation, to do that he had to choose he chose to close his eyes to the innocent union members that were suffering terrible injustice, for George the Union man it is about power ,you backed the wrong horse George
Thanks Jane, nicely put. Okay, it wasn't a union, but he was acting as though it was and pretending to look after his members when really he was looking after POL. So, you points still hold. Well done. p
I've just discovered your channel, and am very pleased to hear your detailed analysis of the behaviour of various witnesses to the PO enquiry. Unpicking the thoughts and motivations behind some really bizarre behaviour really helps put these people into perspective. It seems there is always a rational explanation for their apparently irrational behaviour.
I believe that the ‘Union’ have distanced themselves from the testimony of this individual. However, he was in charge for a substantial number of years and what I am wondering is why. Why didn’t the other management members of the Union get rid of this man or did they agree with his take on what was happening at the time. His views are and were beyond the pale but I do think that whoever the people in the management structure of this Union are they also culpable. Edited to add. Excellent analysis, sorry this comment should have preceded my ramble
@@miketomlin6040 I think he was in charge but I am assuming that there was some form of management body around him. Unless he got the top position for ‘life’ presumably he could have been voted out or had a vote of no confidence. I don’t know much about the organisation of Unions so I may be completely wrong in my assumptions.
No worries, I could tell you liked my analysis from your great response. You ask really important questions here. So, nicely thought through. Thank you.
@PaulDuckett I sense that members of the Union management would never challenge George at risk of receiving more than a vile belligerent tirade. George had developed that to his personal position of supreme power.
His testimony should be played on public address systems (buses trains shops and bars) across Scotland when the final result of the enquiry is published so that people recongnise a bad apple in the flesh.
Its the strangest thing, when those in power are admitting there was a problem and yet the person who was meant to protect those suffering the consequence of that problem is refusing to admit there was ever a problem, we have to ask some serious questions. You would expect this man to have been in the pr department of post office, someone whose job was to advance the interests of the corporation and remain convinced of the corporate lines no matter what evidence to the contrary appears. His job was to fight against that, it was to advance the interests of the employees and to ensure an equity existed that protected the rights of those employees against potential abuses of a corporation lead by people who can become corrupt and blame employees for problems that are structural in nature. His final thoughts in which he opined openly about random cases of people he represented that had been caught stealing as if it proved there was never a problem exposes his true rotten nature. He never represented the employees, he uses his union job to advance his own interests, and when it came to it he was happy to throw anyone under the bridge to protect his own position.
That's lovely of you to say. Thanks so much Ian. Your feedback helps keep me going :) And, sorry it has taken me so long to responsed - work has gone crazy. p
Georges "vast majority" comments are simply an anecdote. These have no place in answering statements of fact and he has no expertise or skillsets that allow him to pass such judgements. The word "robust" should not be used when referring to a system or collections of software as it is impossible to determine that. The error handling, reporting and fix/patch procedures can be suggested to be robust, but not the system itself. However, when looking into how errors where diagnosed, detected, replicated and fixed it is clear the SSC did not have robust procedures for this. They admit on occasion they simply couldn't recreate some of the errors. And so it follows the system is not robust.
George Thompson was one of the only people outside Fujitsu and the Post Office who was in a position to see the size of the problem, and he blindly refused to recognise it. In a very real sense, this mess is his fault.
I Don’t think it’s that complicated. He is simply an arrogant controlling bully.
Agreed, he'd have got on well with Hitler and maybe he'll end up with him (and Judas) in Hell one day.
Well, mike, that does sum up his behaviour quite nicely :)
p
@@PaulDuckett Yes..
The NHS are full of toxic bullying managers just like him.
Look up "Roger Stone Deposition", he reminds me of that.
He used the word ‘robust’ more than 20 times. He is a company man that sold his members out.
Wow, 20x. Yep, very much sold out.
p
@@PaulDuckett I don't trust anyone who uses the words "robust", "impact", or "issues". The correct words in my opinion are reliable, effect/affect, and problems.
they not members they are victims of a con set up by post office .it a bit like reporting a crime to the cps .you could end up with a arrest if you bother the pigs too much.on what they already decised on the spot is reality with out talking to any one .
Used it more than PO did
An abhorrant bully. I watched all his evidence to the inquiry and his attitude was shocking
Him and Bradshaw would make a good double act as repo men.
Completely agree . Thought he was an absolute bell end
Yep, his behaviour was pretty aggressive.
He reminded me of old time Stalinist activists.
There is only one truth. And that is immutable for all time.
Him and Bradshaw were a marriage made in wherever. Like Stalin and Beira.
The dialectic reasoning stopped when they gained their position.
Total belligerent failure of a man who now owes his members a refund?
From 2016 the association was and is funded by the post office not members subscriptions, see the problem?
he gave all the members(his bad apples) value for money by telling them where to whistle ! Nasty beyond the core !
I hope there is some mechanism to takes George's considerable Union pension away from him. He seems to have done a lot of his members no favours. With 'friends' like George who needs enemies?!
@@ukdave57 I wonder if there isn't a claim for breach of duty owed by the NFSP to protect the convicted SPMs' interests. I still don't think Thomson could be held personally liable since the NFSP would almost certainly be vicariously liable for his actions, but I'd be delighted to be wrong about that.
Yep, you may well be right.
He was an aggressive disgrace.
That's nicely sums up his performance. Nice job.
p
Gives Scotland a bad name
His performance was shameful, but he would never recognise it sadly.
Yes, he won't. Others, however, will. I wish him all the best - far away from any position of power, though.
Yep, I think self-reflection might be a bit too painful for him just now, but I think it will come to him eventually. These things have a happen of haunting us til we face it. Unless he is living in an echo chamber, he will likely have to have a bit of a rethink to make sense of why so many people have become so disappointed in him.
p
you given him more credit of empathy than he deserves .i wonder what races did he enjoy going after 1 st
What an embarrassment. As a Scot, I feel compelled to say, "We're no aw like that". He's behaving like the belligerent drunk that everyone tries to avoid if they have the misfortune to bump into him on a night out. He wasn't forced into it, he chose his master and that was the Post Office first and foremost while he betrayed the members who were depending on him. Thank you for another very good and fair analysis.
Thomson's like a cross between Rab C Nesbitt and George Galloway ;)
@@ftumschk 🤣🤣🤣..... and true.
At least Rab C has a ❤
@@dglady5168 also true 😃
Thanks so much. Now you describe him that way, I think I know him a bit better :) He was always the guy at the late night bus stop that people tried desperately not to have eye contact with. :)
I cannot get over his stupidity in belligerently stating that there'd been prosecutions under the old system so prosecutions under Horizon were par for the course! He has COMPLETELY missed/ignored/evaded the very point of the enquiry..........is he THAT arrogant or THAT incredibly dumb - I think BOTH?!!
I think... Well said 👏
Yep, arrogantly dumb behaviour nicely sums it up. Well done!
p
@@PaulDuckett I just couldn't believe his argument that because crimes were committed in the past therefore all 'crimes' with the new system had to automatically be valid crimes because there was a history of crimes with the old system. Tautological logic at best, wilful ignorance at the least! I reckon he's going to be pretty lonely down at the pub from now on! Cheers from Sydney!!
Before Horizon there was an average of 6 successful prosecutions each year. After it was over 50. Not to mention all the people who admitted false accounting to avoid jail
I sat through all of Georges testimony, increasingly open mouthed. His opinion was immovable against hard evidence. For to admit he was wrong would mean the history and achievements of his whole working life would be ruined.
And for not admitting it he won't have any more achievements and his future will be done. Well done.
He is not the sort of person to admit he was wrong. He is a bigot.
Yep, no humilty. The key thing is to not consider that we might be wrong, but to actively seek out evidence that we might be wrong. That's what we are supposed to do in academia (though we dont!). And, on that I am certain I am not wrong ;)
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@@PaulDuckett Isn't it human nature to think one is correct? ....even when other people tell you and sometimes the evidence suggests you are not. History is littered with leaders who thought they were correct but events proved otherwise. Even in academia people search for the truth but egos & the drive for success impacts how people behave, and 'sometimes' I expect people end up with a version of the truth that suits their agenda. How do you teach a student about truth in the real world?
There are consequences for speaking truth to power and a lot of people (myself included) have modified their actions based on the adage(s), 'Don't rock the boat' AND 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'. I suppose that's where integrity is important but integrity doesn't always put food on the table.
This is the problem with the dialectic method.
Thesis.vs Antithesis.= Synthesis.
And that's where most stop.
But the Synthesis becomes the Thesis. And that is how progress happens.
This guy is a disaster in every sense. Another example of a self serving “union” rep.
100% correct, from my own experience.
Try and understand that he wasn’t in a union , he was in a “ federation “ that was set up by the Post Office . Totally different thing .
@@sturner80wasn’t it a Union until they voted in favour of being bankrolled by POL?
Federation, Union, Trade Association? I really don’t understand the semantics here. Could be me of course, but weren’t they supposed to (at the very very least) have some representation of the subpostmasters?
Please enlighten me.
Also, there has been a public statement from this body stating that in no way are this awful man’s opinions representative of theirs. So where does that leave them?
what a guy nor i mean a git
what a guy nor i mean a git
He does not understand his priorities and he failed the SP,s.......his members.
Who funded him.....follow the money and his personal remuneration!!
Yep, started as a combination of members fees and POL funding and then, following the deal he made with POL, turned to no membership fees (I think SPM were automatically made members) and funded by POL. Which looks awfully suspcious to me.
@@PaulDuckettThe funding had gone up more than inflation and membership volume. Did his salary in post increase by more than norm inflation or significantly increase when PO took over the entire donations and pay for everything?
He did an excellent job of showing the Inquiry what the sub-postmasters were up against.
Look forward to a similar analysis of Gareth Jenkins . . .
I will try, if I can to do something on Gareth. Might take me awhile as I am now getting buried under teaching and admin at work.
The SPMs should have had absolutely nothing to worry about with this lion on their side....No....wait a minute LOL
I'm so glad to hear this feedback. George Thomson is so arrogant
Yep, arrogance is a good description of his behaviour at the inquiry.
I have no idea what this guy thought he was responsible for, except drawing a salary ........... Just a disgusting excuse for a human being!
Yep, wasn't a good look, I'll agree with you there.
George likes confrontation, he invites confrontation and belligerent is an understatement. He is actually very insecure and fears failure, so his fight response is kicking in even beyond rational decision making.
I wonder how many bruises his wife has, or perhaps she left him long ago.
@@psychotropicalresearch5653 Or may be the other way around?
Stop doing the Doc's job ;)
Yep, you guys have put me out of a job! Interesting analysis, thanks :)
He has individually managed to reduce the membership of every single union in the Country. Well done you self centred know all.
It was no longer recognised as a UNION, and George was paid by the Post Office and the 'Union' ,s was , was then fully funderd by the Post Office !
Yep, I reckon every union in the UK will be actively distancing themselves from him right now.
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He has nothing to do with Independent Trade Unions. He was leading an ASSOCIATION that represented small business owners.
trust a bully to get into positions of power with a sales pitch but no substance to back it up, they tend to work in teams (gangs) of likeminded weaklings to intimidate and infiltrate, but when faced with challenges to fall flat on their faces! This is not exclusive to the Post Office either, we see this everywhere now.
Yes, I am afraid you are right. Bullies do seem to get promoted quite regularly. It's as though it's an essential skill for management jobs! Shouldn't be like that so we need to change it.
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Please keep going with your analysis of the Post Office Horizon enquiry.
I was so angry at George's testimony ...
Your analysis helps me understand how someone can be that blind to harsh realities
Thanks so much. That's exactly what I was hoping my videos would do for someone. So please it worked for you in that way.
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The thing I miss most amongst the witnesses that I've been able to observe is that not a single one of them comes across as being honest or remorseful, neither in their testimonies nor in any apologies, when they are given.
They all seem to be reading from roughly the same script, and the only variations seem to be rooted in their individual personal mannerisms and characteristics.
Yes, they have come across really quite badly. Thanks so much for posting.
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They just make themselves look worse.
I think you’ll find that George Thomson was looking forward to a managerial position within the Post Office… and still is? He is a fool.
I think in his mind he had a post office managerial position already
Sadly that sort of personal ambition does drive too many of these folk in positions of authority. They shoudl be driven by duty, or at least duty should come first.
I do not understand how he was not held in contempt of the inquiry but then I'm not in the legal profession.
Just because he was an unpleasant bellend doesn't make his behaviour or demeanour criminal.
@@juliangauld7331 Fair comment, I didn't mean he is criminal. I may have used the wrong words but I do feel he should have been pulled up to show a bit more respect for everybody attending the inquiry.
I believe that as difficult as it may be to listen to, it is important to let everyone speak [preferably respectfully][, however much we disagree with or dislike what they are saying or inded how they are saying it. The rubbish spouted can strengthen the opposing argument and hopefully help to highlight and wipe out the non sense itself.
@@mhd5826the judge's light ticking off,was the way to go. Hope he is arrested first(don't mean the judge). Even before Paula Fennels.
I'm glad he did. It shows what he is and what a lickspittle that organisation was for the post office management. Its good that we are seeing these people for what they are. Everyone who knows or encounters them now knows what they are.
In George’s world the Titanic was a fantastic liner it sailed for 2000 miles with no problems.
Millions of ships have sailed and completed jobs across the world without any issue, a small number sank but that doesn't mean there is a problem with the idea of ships carrying things across the water. I am just angry the company that made the Titanic were unwilling to admit they built a ship that had faults and wouldn't admit it because it makes it look like all ships are fatally flawed.
Also the captain is really the one at fault not the shipbuilders because he should have seen the iceberg in time, so its not the titanic ship itself that had a problem, it was built to be robust but the captain had his hand in the till when he should have been watching the seas.
ugh.
Ohhhhh, wish I thought of saying that. I reckon you've nailed it!
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🤣🤣🤣
The vast majority of the 2000 miles went without a hitch…
Therefore… 🤔
George has abandoned his moral compass and thrown so many of his SPM’s under the bus. Their interests were simply ignored by a union which might otherwise have defended them and brought the mess to an earlier and happier conclusion. George was as much an enabler as the very many inadequate dissemblers at senior levels we’ve seen over the course of this enquiry. I wonder whether he’ll ever have a moment of introspection, a realisation of his actual role, not the version currently bouncing round his head?
With thick idiots like George Thomson, moments of introspection will be as rare as hen's teeth. I can only guess his belligerent attitude is well known by those around him i.e family and in his locality. I bet they all suffer in silence!
Really well put. Thank you.
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Brilliant. You analysed the absurdity of this witness. You understood the issues of this man and gave us reason and kindness - which he most certainly didn’t deserve.
Thanks so much :)
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Brilliant encapsulation of what has been going on for all those years/decades. Thank you. 👍👏
Awww, thanks for your lovely feedback.
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Imagine paying union dues to that
The point was , he was no longer taking money from the Postmasters as they were stripped of their right to be a union and he was in hawk to the Post office , and those who paid the piper called the tune , and George sang Horizon's praises loudly and they paid him well for it .
Yep, NFPS could not claim to independently represented SPMs when they were receiving funding from POL.
Yep, and I think they would just stop paying. Which maybe NFSP recognised when they argued for free (automatic) membership into NFSP and POL would effectively pay the membership fees.[
I have met thousands of this type of person. They are bad for your health.
Yep, best avoid them if possible!
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George is the personification of a 'Company's Man' His loyalty and focus lay squarely with the Post Office and securing his own future! The members he was supposed to represent were secondary to that loyalty and still are. His belligerence was a thing to behold.
Nicely put. Thanks for posting.
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Yes Minister meets Faulty Towers. A complete train wreck built on low IQ and high level,of psychopathy?
Puts me in mind of that o,d
Reminds me of that old film I’m all right Jack
The best analysis of Thomson’s idiocy I have seen or heard.
Awwww, that is kind. I do love analysing idiotic behaviour and with George, my cup runneth over!
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A disgrace to the trade union movement.
NOT a union !! How difficult is this to understand ?
Yes, but I think the thing is he saw himself as a union man. Clearly it was not a union, but he seemed to pride himself as one of those old style socialists fighting for the worker. The title 'General Secretary' is kind of a hint as to how we saw himself and the NFSP, even though it was just a satellite of POL, kind of a wing of their HR and PR deparments.
Loving your metaphors Dr Duckett. George has his head firmly lodged somewhere the sun doesn't shine and is a classic example of fixed thinking, unable to budge even when the truth is slapping you in the face. It's his arrogance that really angers me. He couldn't care less about the SPs.
Thanks, I like your metaphors too :)
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Thank you for this commentary with analysis.
Thanks so much. Your encouragement is very welcome ... helps to keep me going.
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I did notice that when he got his five minutes to tell us what he claimed he’d been suppressed from saying during his evidence, he only repeated claims he had already made several times. So he hadn’t been suppressed. But these inquiries are not about witnesses “having their say”, it’s about giving evidence, based on their witness statement.
Yes, excellent point, well made. Thank you.
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He forgot that he was in a room full of excellent attorneys.They already knew the answers to every question they asked him, so he completely destroyed his credibility. Nobody can place any reliance on his evidence.
His lack of self awareness was certainly a test of Mr Blake's patience.
what a revolting thug he is, but I laughed out loud when when he called Mr Stein out for calling him aggressive
Yes, I spat out my tea at that point too!
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An excellent overview. Pride is the perfect description of this man's faults and inability to be truthful. He's totally missing the point of the issue, all systems have bugs and need constant updates and fixes, but when they affect individuals at the level they did, these are not just minor or trivial faults with the system, they are of a high severity or critical ones which in this case led to reputational damage, a financial impact on the postmasters, legal implications and most importantly unfortunately caused ill health and death of employee - at this point they were not bugs to be overlooked and the system, and the business processes were not robust in the slightest. It just shows that in a work environment, this kind of character succeeds through a loud, bullish and pig headed attitude, but in an inquiry comes across as rude, untrustworthy, arrogant, incapable and dismissive.
Yep. Even disinfectant manufucaturers will admit that their product is not perfect (kills 99.99% of all germs). I.e., you may still end u getting sick from some bacteria this doesn't kill, so we are covering ourselves just in case that happens. :)
George is maybe not clever enough to look at his own behaviour. And certainly not able to put himself in someone elses position and look at it from another point of view. He was definitely not suitable for the job he held.
Yep, we call it reflexivity (seeing yourself through someone else's eyes) and is one of the main things I teach my students. it a very important skill for anyone who works in a position of authority.
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This is a great breakdown of this terrible, terrible human being. Made me ashamed to be Scottish when I watched it, I was gob smacked while Mr Blake was reading out his witness statement and getting a yes to him confirming what he put was correct. Pride definitely played a big part in his attitude as well as his attitude of always being right. For someone who didn’t know anything about how Horizon worked and that his position was to help the SPM’s its amazing he was so committed to be right. Oh and he just lives the sound of his own voice and a bully. Sitting there , lounging about with his shirt open was frustrating. At the end when he got his chance to talk, people were walking out, everybody should have done that! You deserve my subscription to your channel with this video, as you said at end , life’s about learning to be true to yourself and growing, he is lost and not sure he will ever realise he is.
Kudos to the director who cut to that shot showing people walking out.
@@sh4dowchas3r yeah definitely 👍
Thanks so much for you post. You put things really well. And thank you for your sub :)
@@PaulDuckett your welcome, thank you again 👍
He should be jailed😢
God, imagine being locked in a cell with him droning on all day!
I understand the sentiment, but I am not sure what he could be found criminally liable for. I would be very happy to be wrong, but I don't think he could be part of a conspiracy with POL to keep material evidence from SPMs during court proceedings - he didn't have the requisite knowledge and was not in a position to have such knowledge as he was not part of POL. As obnoxious as he is, and despite the responsibilities he failed to fulfil, he is probably one of the few recent witnesses to the inquiry who could give his evidence very safely - which is possibly one of the reasons it came out as it did.
Did his pay increase when the post office increased the grant to his Federation?
Imagine sharing a cell with that!... Christ
Yep, I think the likely outcome will just be confined to reputational damage and then we'll all slowly forget he ever existed.
What Tomson doesn't understand it that it is the outliers that can suffer from errors. The outlying errors are the hardest to solve and having seen GJ's testimony I'm not surprised that they didn't get fixed.
Absolutely! Nicely said.
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Thank you Paul for your insights, George was on a whole other level of pride for himself, the post office and fujitsu. I have recently learned the biblical quote " pride goeth before the fall" is actually "pride goeth before destruction". George is blessed by being so tone deaf he will never have the time to learn critical thinking or self-reflection of the destruction he contributed to creating. I appreciate your words and the look of your vlogs as I am educated by your analysis of events and look forward to your posts.
Thanks so much for your lovely feedback.
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A fair & reasoned assessment of how easy it is for people of a certain type, to create & sustain an organisational narrative that is simply wrong, but outwardly which allows them to rationalise their dubious moral position. A lesson that the inquiry needs to publicise, because this will happen again.
Rings bells vis a vis some politicians
Yes, absolutely. Let's hope we do learn from this and stop this sort of thing from happening again.
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If ever there was an inside man for the Post Office, this is what they would look and sound like. He was supposed to protect his members , he was in fact looking after himself and the Post Office.
Well said and thank you so much for posting.
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He's what used to be called 'A Company Man' , an arm around your shoulder while pissing down your leg.Avoided by all except those that tolerated him to do their bidding.
Great metaphor!😢
Agree, great metaphor and most appropriate!
Love the metaphor. Thanks so much!
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I'm guessing that George was on the bonus gravy train too? I'd be interested to know his to know his remuneration when the funding to NPSPM was increased......
Yes, great question. Question that ask 'show me where the money went' are always among the best questions in these situations. Thanks so much for posting :)
The amazing, truly amazing thing about this enquiry is every day we are gobsmacked at the arrogance and lack of ability in these people... and every day it is worse, and you think you've seen the worst it can possibly, ever in any sane world be and we have hit the utter bottom...and yet next day it plummets even lower! It's beyond bad, its beyond staggeringly bad... I simply dont think there are superlatives enough left to adequately express the depths these people have plumbed.
I have the same response as you. Glad I'm not alone!
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It's his empathetic ear and bedside manner that attracts me.
LOL. Thanks for making me giggle :)
This is what happens when there is an untrammelled imbalance of power.
Yes, nicely put.
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Empty barrels make the most noise.
What guage? Lol
I thought that it was more that an empty barrel doesn't sh*t in the woods ..... remind me to avoid relying on metaphors in my future videos :)
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How can such disgusting people ever get into positions of power
Because they are disgusting. They threaten, bully, and cajole until they get their way.
I know. It is quite depressing.
what a horrible little man, i wonder how much he was paid and the big fat pension he awarded himself ?
Yes, I think you capture our anger very well with your points here.
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He proved himself to be a complete clown, prideful petty and willfully blinkered to what was happening on his watch; I feel bad for anyone who had that man as their representative/protector. He was utterly filleted by one question though, near the end of his testimony along the lines of "Even if it was a very small number of people affected, it ruined the lives of those people. They were your members, why were you not looking out for them?"
Yes, he was filleted by that. Love you phrasing of that!. Thanks for posting.
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He is delusional and that is so obvious by the way he keeps on trying to justify his decision making referring to issues in the past before the introduction of Horizon.
Yep, nice reflection. He got stuck in teh past, without learning the lessons from the past
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Well done Paul. Utter contempt for ALL postmasters (whether they were caught up in the Horizon scandal or not) is shown by Mr Thomson, not to mention his contempt for the Inquiry. And, this is the man who was supposed to support postmasters and not protect Post Office plc. You nicely break this down for us. Thank you. A postscript: I loved your 'I'm not a psychologist. . . . Actually, I am'!
Awwww, thanks Melaine. Also, great comment from you. I think you are spot on about his contempt.
This loathsome individual comprehensively betrayed the members of the association that he was paid to defend and represent. I sincerely hope that retribution finds him.
I would have liked to hear his answer to why he didn’t help SPMs who were targeted for prosecution. He admits that Horizon did make mistakes, so surely not all SPMs were guilty. And even the guilty are entitled to a defense. So why did he never do anything to help?
George is too stupid to realize when to accept defeat. I suppose it’s harder for him because his job was to help and he didn’t even pretend to. Those who prosecuted SPMs did their jobs badly, but George didn’t even try to do his job.
I think he said that the NFSP didn't offer assistance to SPM's that were the subject of a prosecution. But he didn''t do anything to prevent others SPM's from suffering fate.
Apparently one of the executive committee had a problem and it was quietly dealt with.
Yep, excellent question :)
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This is the type of union rep required by a corporate state, of which the post office is a part.
He's actually the type required by a Post Office that was preparing for privatization. Imagine if all this were behind a wall of "commercial confidentiality"!
Yes, I think you are right on this.
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Thank heavens I never had anyone like this person represent me in any union dealings.He appears to have his priorities reversed!
Yep, me too!
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Thank you for yet another very civilised commentary and analysis of the Post Office debacle. In many respects this reminds me of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster-- the same deep-rooted culture in the management of the business that ensured that those who had the authority to take action ignored or dismissed very clear warnings those at the "sharp end" (principally ships' masters) over a period of many months, resulting in the UK's worst peacetime maritime loss since the loss of the RMS Titanic. It was "institutional failure" of the worst kind in both cases. Thank you again-- I hope your academic work schedule will permit you to continue sharing your insights with us.
Thanks so much and I loved you commentary on this. Thanks for posting :)
Let’s be honest. Was that determined to protect his funding he completely threw his members under a bus
A total disgrace
Nicely said.
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I've been trying to watch the whole interviews on the official enquiry channel but often they are so long and drawn out I don't have time.
Thank you so much for your channel! Now I have found someone who is able to not only show the really important points, but also the huge bonus of a psychological break down, and all delivered with your delightful dry humour.....I'm loving it 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Awwww, that's very kind of you. thank you.
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He is just a bully and an embarrassment
Nicely put.
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The Inquiry's now finished, and the powerful closing statements have sent me revisiting some of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on one's point of view) of the past few years. I remember Thomson's "testy-moany" sending my blood pressure sky-high at the time, but I've enjoyed your excellent analysis far more than I could ever have envisaged possible. Thank you and well done.
Dr Paul, rather than pride I sensed a deep-set anxiety, like a poorly socialised pit bull, and that his reaction under such circumstances is to come out always fighting by adopting "the best defence is offence" attitude. Every answer to even closed questions has to be further qualified and contextuatlised so that he controls the bear pit. I can only imagine working for or seeking assistance from him must have been an absolute nightmare of Ferguson-like hairdryer treaments.
Spot on.
This is really good analysis. Yes, it could certainly have been the thing behind his behaviour. Nicely considered. Thank you.
This is refreshing! I agree with your analysis. Bet he got his own way in meetings with his filibuster technique 😢
Yes, indeed. Thanks for your post.
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He is like the Chief Engineer at Chernobyl. Total denial even after seen the graphite blown on the roof as consequence of the explosion.
Anatoly Dyatlov was his name...
Great analogy
Sorry this anology doesn't exist.....since the graphite was never there and you didn't see it 😉
@@blue2sco "That is not graphite!!"
Yes, great analogy!
What a terrific channel thank you.
Awwww, thanks. Much appreciated.
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He had absolutely no respect for Julian Blake, Sir Wynn or anyone else
So no-one else much will have any respect for him. One day he may realise that. But meantime those who want his kind on their side will use him. No principles. Pathetic but remunerative at times.. I've no patience for that self-seeking type.
Yep, it was really evident, hey?
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Thank you for your exposure of the mindset of this dreadful man.
My absolute pleasure!
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Brilliant analysis beautifully put together. I could listen to you all day.
Awwww, that is so kind of you to say. Thank you.
Thank you, thoroughly enjoyed your analysis
Brilliant analysis of (in) curious George, thank you.
Awwww, that's very kind of you to say.
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Excellent again.... Thank you!!!
Loved the sound of his own voice. He didn't have the imagination or willingness to understand that the NFSP did not have a binary choice, and that if it had supported affected SPMs as it was supposed to, the Horizon system would have worked a lot better much sooner and there would have been far fewer or no miscarriages of justice. But in his binary world view, wrongful criminal convictions were a price worth paying.
Excellent point, thanks for posting.
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Thankyou Paul, for lifting yet a few more stones on this tragi-comedy.
Thanks so much for your lovely feedback.
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Thank you so much for this video Dr Duckett. I’m new to your channel and have found your video’s very insightful. 👍🏼
Thanks for your lovely feedback,
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‘Empty barrels always make most noise’. George Thomson demonstrates he did not have the mental capacity to understand other people’s positions, so arrogantly stuck to the ‘Company’ line and therefore limited himself to simple narratives that ensures his own interests come first.
Nicely put. Thanks for posting.
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When they asked what he did personally? He sent the SPM s an email reminding them not to nick money.
Yep, you've captured the craziness of his actions perfectly. Thank you!
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A brilliant analysis highlighting the 'two narratives' scenario and working out the bad apples metaphor. What George still doesn't get is that the potentially terrible cost of a bug, statistically rare as it may have been, should have been enough to query the system, try to replicate the error, and cure it. What he and the POL did was cover it up and blame the victims insinuating the rotten apples theory. His argument of statistical insignificance was, and is, wholly inapproriate here. Without it, the whole house-of-cards argument collapses. Liked and subscribed!
Thank you. Yes, he didn't understand that human cost. Thanks so much for your sub. Much appreciated
The overriding measure for this system is "fit for purpose" that's it!
He did not accept his members view yet he accepted the management view....!
He and the P.O. are
complicit in this travisity.
Rather than be honest he is focused on showing he is squeaky clean.....he acheived the opposite.
Yep. But the key question when someone says somethign is fit for purpose is - what pupose/ whose purpose. In this case, it was fit for purpose at the time because it appeared to be cheap (to keep shareholder happy) and gave POL the appearance of 'modernising' which increased the chances it could be successfully sold off by the government..
We don't need reminding just how dishonest and corrupt those persecuting/prosecuting innocent sub postmasters were!
He also named Mr Rudkin, a postmaster and an executive on NFSP, as stealing money. Shameless.
Yes, that was terrible.
I have watched a few of your videos now and finally decided to do the subscribe thing 😊
This man was another one who was something else in this inquiry.
Thanks so much for your sub. Very much appreciated :)
Seen many examples of this kind of arrogance. Where uneducated and unqualified men find an alternative route to power. The trade union officials where I worked. The councillors who got elected to my local council, via the UKIP or independent route. The shouty men who rant about everything wrong with the "system". Who think everything can be fixed using their "common sense".
Kinda too much generalising
@@maggiegray1698 I am describing specific individuals I have actually met, or followed in my local news. With similar behaviour. Kinda dumb comment really.
Yep, good comment. Maggie. you are right to confront stereotypes and generalisations but I also think that some people's behaviour does need to be called out and typed for what it is. So, you are both right :)
There are about 11,500 Post Offices, run by agents, with around 4,000 agents having been forced to pay back illusory shortfalls/sacked/prosecuted/civil preceedings for debt/bankruptcy. That's over a third affected over about 15 years, making a mockery of George's assertions about the vast majority. How was that thousands of carefully screened PO agents, many of whom had run PO businesses for ages, suddenly started 'thieving' tens of thousands of pounds of cash from the PO, without any evidence of where the cash had gone - no lavish gifts, Maseratis on the forecourt or taking 12 members of their families on a month's luxury cruise?
Those 2 factors always baffled me too: A sudden increase in alleged theft. No evidence of the accused having more money or possessions. There's an old American movie ("Double Dynamite" 1951) where a bank teller is falsely accused due to an adding machine that is faulty. The bank denied that machines can make mistakes!
Very well put. Thank you.
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Thomson seems to miss the point that you can't be tempted to "put your hand in the till" when the system reconciles your accounts every week and you are immediately liable for any shortfalls, "however caused". Stealing from yourself is never a tempting prospect. If the amounts had been quite small, the argument might just about have been plausible. but who "steals" £30,000, knowing that they will immediately rack up a £30,000 debt? What would be the point?
And who steals then calls up the help desk or supervisor to tell them about it !!
Quite.
Fab point. Thanks so much for posting. hadn't thought of it in that way.
@@chrisbirmingham5132 Thank you for expressing this angle so succinctly. I'm screen-shooting it and sharing it with friends, acquaintances and I don't care about being a thorn in anyone's side. This is too important. Your comment sums up perfectly the case for the subpostmasters.
Brilliant analysis, thank you.
I wish the NFSP had been even more forceful in their condemnation of this vile character. He either had no idea what a trades union was supposed to do, or else he did know and chose to ignore it. The Post Office had MASSIVE support behind their position. They had millions to spend on lawyers. They did not need the additional support of the organisation which was supposed to be challenging and questioning them and sticking up for the individuals. He was utterly contemptuous of the inquiry, and couldn't even be bothered to wear a tie.
Nicely said. Thank you.
This is becoming my favorite channel, and I don't even know what this issue is about.
George the Union man ,well he was certainly going to support the Post Office Executive at all costs ,his salary, his power ,his importance all depended on him protecting the Organisation, to do that he had to choose he chose to close his eyes to the innocent union members that were suffering terrible injustice, for George the Union man it is about power ,you backed the wrong horse George
But his wasn’t a union was it? More a ‘trade association’.
Thanks Jane, nicely put. Okay, it wasn't a union, but he was acting as though it was and pretending to look after his members when really he was looking after POL. So, you points still hold. Well done.
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I've just discovered your channel, and am very pleased to hear your detailed analysis of the behaviour of various witnesses to the PO enquiry. Unpicking the thoughts and motivations behind some really bizarre behaviour really helps put these people into perspective. It seems there is always a rational explanation for their apparently irrational behaviour.
Many thanks Helen.So pleased that you are finding these videos useful.
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I believe that the ‘Union’ have distanced themselves from the testimony of this individual. However, he was in charge for a substantial number of years and what I am wondering is why. Why didn’t the other management members of the Union get rid of this man or did they agree with his take on what was happening at the time. His views are and were beyond the pale but I do think that whoever the people in the management structure of this Union are they also culpable.
Edited to add. Excellent analysis, sorry this comment should have preceded my ramble
Who was managing him, if anyone?
@@miketomlin6040 I think he was in charge but I am assuming that there was some form of management body around him. Unless he got the top position for ‘life’ presumably he could have been voted out or had a vote of no confidence. I don’t know much about the organisation of Unions so I may be completely wrong in my assumptions.
@@AuntSally1 I'd not asume anyone was monitoring/supervising his work. He may have been asked this, I forget.
No worries, I could tell you liked my analysis from your great response. You ask really important questions here. So, nicely thought through. Thank you.
@PaulDuckett I sense that members of the Union management would never challenge George at risk of receiving more than a vile belligerent tirade. George had developed that to his personal position of supreme power.
The canned applause at the end of each of George's pompous statement, is a master stroke 😂
It was a bit naughty of me, but I couldn't resist! :)
@@PaulDuckett Indeed! 🤣
Without comedic timing it could only be the actions of a lunatic editor 🤣
Bravo!
#Tragedy #Farce 🤣
I believe the POL never had any concern for fixing any and all bugs
Yes, I believe you are right :(
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His testimony should be played on public address systems (buses trains shops and bars) across Scotland when the final result of the enquiry is published so that people recongnise a bad apple in the flesh.
Its the strangest thing, when those in power are admitting there was a problem and yet the person who was meant to protect those suffering the consequence of that problem is refusing to admit there was ever a problem, we have to ask some serious questions.
You would expect this man to have been in the pr department of post office, someone whose job was to advance the interests of the corporation and remain convinced of the corporate lines no matter what evidence to the contrary appears.
His job was to fight against that, it was to advance the interests of the employees and to ensure an equity existed that protected the rights of those employees against potential abuses of a corporation lead by people who can become corrupt and blame employees for problems that are structural in nature.
His final thoughts in which he opined openly about random cases of people he represented that had been caught stealing as if it proved there was never a problem exposes his true rotten nature. He never represented the employees, he uses his union job to advance his own interests, and when it came to it he was happy to throw anyone under the bridge to protect his own position.
Excellent points. Thanks so much for posting :)
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I'm going to use "the E word" again; very eloquently put! I'm amazed how you manage to keep so calm whilst explaining these things.
That's lovely of you to say. Thanks so much Ian. Your feedback helps keep me going :)
And, sorry it has taken me so long to responsed - work has gone crazy.
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Georges "vast majority" comments are simply an anecdote. These have no place in answering statements of fact and he has no expertise or skillsets that allow him to pass such judgements. The word "robust" should not be used when referring to a system or collections of software as it is impossible to determine that. The error handling, reporting and fix/patch procedures can be suggested to be robust, but not the system itself. However, when looking into how errors where diagnosed, detected, replicated and fixed it is clear the SSC did not have robust procedures for this. They admit on occasion they simply couldn't recreate some of the errors. And so it follows the system is not robust.
Really well put. Yes, it wasn't robust exactly for those reasons.
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George Thompson was one of the only people outside Fujitsu and the Post Office who was in a position to see the size of the problem, and he blindly refused to recognise it. In a very real sense, this mess is his fault.
Thanks Kim, yes, good point and well put. Sorry it has taken me so long to responsed - work has gone crazy.