Post Office Horizon inquiry: Lawyers believe criminal cases could be brought

Senior Post Office staff who presided over the Horizon scandal could face criminal charges, lawyers for the victims believe.

The scandal saw hundreds of postmasters and postmistresses prosecuted for fraud, false accounting and theft between 1999 and 2015, after the introduction of a computer system called Horizon. However, it transpired that the program was faulty and the postmasters were innocent.

The Times has reported today that lawyers representing the Horizon victims think there is enough evidence for police to investigate senior staff for perverting the course of justice - because of the cover-up of scandal. Postmasters say that Post Office managers either covered up the system's bugs or “deliberately shut their eyes to the obvious”. Emails submitted to the ongoing public inquiry into Horizon, which is due to conclude next year, have revealed that investigators who were looking into the postmasters were given bonuses that were dependent on how much cash they recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and The Times says a postmistress was prosecuted for theft after her investigator had reported that there was insufficient evidence.

Paul Marshall, a barrister who has represented postmasters, said: “Based on recent weeks’ hearings there is more than enough evidence for the police to open criminal investigations into several senior Post Office staff.”

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said this month, as he opened a debate on the Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill in parliament, that it was 'rightly described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in our history'. An ITV drama about the case, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office is on ITV1 and ITVX from January 1 to January 4 at 9pm.