Britain's Post Office Scandal: timeline of events as thousands of sub-postmasters wrongly accused of theft

Over 25 years, the Post Office scandal has left thousands of victims still fighting for justice. Over 700 branch managers were convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud but it was a flaw in the Horizon software, developed and maintained by Fujitsu, that led to inconsistencies in the accounts. But what is the timeframe of Britain's Post Office scandal? Here is what you need to know. 

1999

The Post Office rolls out its new computer accounting system, Horizon which was developed by Fujitsu, a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation. 

2000

Sub-postmasters begin to report problems with the system within weeks of it being installed but the Post Office denies any problems and insists postmasters make up any shortfall.

2000-2022

Faulty Horizon data led to more than 100 prosecutions in three years - with six branch managers convicted in 2000, and 41 sub-postmasters prosecuted in 2001, with another 64 in 2002.

2002-2004

Shopkeeper Baljit Sethi contacted the Brentwood Gazette newspaper about Horizon errors at his post office in Brentwood, Essex - which showed a £17,000 shortfall but the Post Office denies the system is faulty.

Alan Bates' contract with the Post Office was terminated after he refused to accept liability for alleged losses at his branch. He writes a letter to Computer Weekly magazine about the problems with his Horizon system saying: "We have lost our investment and livelihood by daring to raise questions over a computer system we had thrust upon us."

January 2006 

Sub-postmaster Lee Castleton is falsely accused by the Post Office of stealing £35,000 from his branch in Bridlington, East Yorkshire. But he represents himself as he is unable to afford a lawyer, and loses the case. Ordered to pay £321,000 in legal costs, he is forced to declare bankruptcy.

January 2009

Sub-postmistress Fiona McGowan, 47, dies from an accidental overdose of alcohol and antidepressants. She was charged with fraud when Horizon stated £30,000 was missing from her branch in Edinburgh. The charges against her had already been dropped but she was never informed.

September 2009

Alan Bates and other victims of the scandal set up the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA), the first meeting in the Warwickshire village of Fenny Compton.

October 2010

Seema Misra, a pregnant sub-postmistress, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court to 15 months in prison after Horizon falsely recorded a shortfall of £74,000 at her post office in West Byfleet, Surrey. She said later: "It's hard to say but I think that if I had not been pregnant, I would have killed myself." She was cleared in 2021.

April 2012

Paula Vennells becomes the chief executive of the Post Office after serving in other senior positions within the company.

June 2012

An independent investigative firm, Second Sight, is appointed and paid by the Post Office to conduct a separate inquiry, following pressure from MPs.

July 2013

An interim report by Second Sight is issued. Post Office Ltd admits software defects with Horizon have occurred but still insists the system is effective.

December 2013

Another sub-postmaster dies by suicide. Martin Griffiths, 59, who ran a branch in Great Sutton, Cheshire was wrongly accused of stealing £61,000 from his post office.

March 2015

Reportedly, the Post Office had ordered Second Sight to stop its investigation one day before its report was due and to destroy all paperwork it had not handed over. The Post Office says "there are no wide-scale problems with our computer system".

April 2015

A confidential report by Second Sight describes the Horizon system in some cases as "not fit for purpose". It reported there were about 12,000 communications failures each year and software defects at 76 branches, and in the original Post Office investigation, it had not looked for the cause of errors but instead accused sub-postmasters of theft.

March 2017

A total of 555 claimants, led by Alan Bates, brought a group litigation against the Post Office at the High Court and the Post Office agreed to pay costs.

December 2018

Vennells is given a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to the Post Office and to charity".

February 2019

Vennells announced she would step down from her role as chief executive at the Post Office and left the company with more than £400,000 in pay and bonuses.

11 December 2019

Sub-postmasters reached an out-of-court settlement with the Post Office, but the company did not accept liability, making it a costs settlement not compensation.

23 December 2019

Vennells apologises for the first time, just two days after saying she would not say sorry to sub-postmasters. She says: "I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused."

January 2020

The Metropolitan Police launches a criminal investigation, into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice during the Post Office prosecutions and two former Fujitsu witnesses are interviewed.

July 2020

Postmaster Peter Huxham, 63, who worked at a branch in Devon that falsely recorded a £16,000 shortfall, is found at his apartment, and it is believed he may have taken his own life. Huxham was found guilty of fraud by misrepresentation in March 2010 and jailed for eight months, which caused his 22-year marriage to end.

August 2020

Details from December 2019's settlement are made public which revealed sub-postmasters were awarded £58m by the Post Office. However, £46m went on legal costs, leaving only about £20,000 for each claimant.

December 2020 

The first six sub-postmasters had their convictions quashed at Southwark Crown Court on the basis of Horizon evidence. 

April 2021

Another 39 postmasters had their convictions quashed at the Court of Appeal. Judges said the convictions were "an affront to the public conscience".

May 2021

The government announced that the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry will be extended into a statutory inquiry - meaning witnesses can now give evidence.

July 2021

The government announces that wrongly convicted sub-postmasters will receive interim compensation of up to £100,000.

September 2023

The government announced that sub-postmasters who have had their convictions overturned would be offered £600,000 in full and final settlement.

21 December 2023

Post Office accounts show its compensation pot for victims is down from £487m to £244m in the space of a year.

1 January 2024

Reportedly, 50 more victims come forward after the broadcast of the first part of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, a four-part drama depicting the events of the scandal on ITV. 

5 January 2024

The Metropolitan Police is investigating potential fraud offences in relation to "monies recovered from sub-postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions".

8 January 2024

A petition calling for Vennells to have her CBE rescinded reaches more than one million signatures and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he would “strongly support” the Honours Forfeiture Committee if it chose to look into revoking her honour.

9 January 2024

Vennells announces that she will hand back her CBE and says: “I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence. I am, however, aware of the calls from sub-postmasters and others to return my CBE. I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect."

10 January 2024

Rishi Sunak confirms a new law is to be introduced to exonerate hundreds of Post Office branch managers caught up in the Horizon IT scandal.