Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has accused the Post Office of lying to him on an “industrial scale” as he comes under pressure over the Horizon scandal.
Sir Ed has been facing fresh scrutiny over his role as postal affairs minister in the coalition government, with the major miscarriage of justice in the spotlight thanks to an ITV drama.
Victims of the scandal that saw hundreds of subpostmasters convicted because of faulty accounting software have argued the MP has questions to answer.
He is also facing increasing Conservative attacks about his ministerial role between 2010 and 2012.
Sir Ed told broadcasters: “I wish I had known then what we all know now, the Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers.”
He said it was “clear they were all lying to me” as he put the concerns of campaigning former subpostmaster Alan Bates to officials.
“My heart goes out to all those people, we need to make sure their convictions are overturned and we need to make sure they are fairly compensated, and quickly,” he said.
In an interview with the Guardian, Sir Ed went further to accuse senior Post Office managers of unleashing a “conspiracy of lies” against ministers.
But the newspaper said he refused to apologise for his role in the scandal as he issued a personal defence.
He also questioned why the Conservatives had awarded former Post Office boss Paula Vennells a CBE, amid mounting pressure to rescind the gong.
“They knew all about this,” he said. “I’d like to know who signed it off. It was a bizarre decision given that this was clearly in the public domain.”
The Tories have been attacking Sir Ed over the scandal, with Conservatives fearing a threat posed by the Lib Dems at the next general election.
Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson accused him of having taken “the side of the employers over the workers”.
“This man, this Ed Davey, has not really looked at both sides of the story. He took the side of the Post Office employers and sadly many went to prison due to him not listening,” Mr Anderson told GB News, which employs him as a presenter.
“But he really should be coming out now – instead of making excuses, instead of saying he was lied to, he should properly apologise, make a public apology in Parliament to these people that sadly took their lives, the families of these victims, and the people who went to prison.”
