A recent TV drama has re-focussed attention on the Post Office Horizon accounting scandal and has increased pressure on the government to compensate and exonerate those affected.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 3,500 individuals working as Post Office branch managers were wrongly accused of theft and fraud and more than 700 were wrongly convicted as the result of a computer systems error.
Some of the wrongly-convicted served time in jail, whilst others were financially ruined by the scandal as they were forced to pay back the “stolen” funds. Many have since passed away without being able to clear their names, some by suicide.
An ITV drama based on the scandal, entitled Mr Bates vs the Post Office, has drawn fresh public attention to the case.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg this week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated that Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is “looking at” the potential exoneration of all postmasters implicated in the scandal, but stopped short of confirming it would definitely happen.
Horizon is the IT system used across all UK Post Office branches since 1999 for accounting processes. It is still used today, although the Post Office has said it is aiming to have a new supplier in place by 2025.
After the system was installed, the Post Office saw a sharp increase in shortfalls being reported by subpostmasters. They were blamed for the missing funds and many were convicted of theft and fraud.
In 2009, several postmasters who had been impacted by the scandal came forward to tell their stories publicly, and subsequently formed a group and took legal action against the Post Office.
The Post Office continued to pursue cases against postmasters until 2015, despite the IT issues coming to light from at least 2010.
More wrongful convictions likely to be uncovered due to pilot scheme
According to a report by The Guardian, at least two postmasters were accused of theft during a trial run of the Horizon system, which took place between 1995 and 1996, in hundreds of Post Office branches in the North East.
A senior Labour MP told the paper that at least two branch managers were prosecuted for accounting shortfalls during that time – and both blamed the discrepancies on faulty IT.
Kevan Jones, who is Labour MP for North Durham and a member of the Horizon compensation advisory board, claims there may be dozens more who were wrongly convicted due to the pilot scheme. “Amid the controversy and scandal over the Horizon system, no one from the Post Office thought to mention that they had this pilot scheme which also resulted in prosecutions,” he said. “The question we have to ask is how many more have been prosecuted and how many more lives have been ruined. It’s what we have come to expect from the Post Office – they hide the truth and the sub postmasters take the blame.”
Criminal investigation
On Friday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is carrying out a criminal investigation against two individuals from the Post Office in connection with potential fraud offences arising out of the wrongful prosecutions. This could include “monies recovered from sub-postmasters [operators] as a result of prosecutions or civil actions”, said a spokesperson from Scotland Yard.
