JUSTICE AT LAST?
Rishi Sunak could give postmasters blanket exoneration after hundreds ‘wrongfully treated’
More than 700 branch office managers were prosecuted in the IT scandal
WRONGED postmasters could get a blanket exoneration, Rishi Sunak has confirmed.
The PM today announced a review of Post Office prosecution powers after the Horizon IT scandal saw hundreds "wrongfully treated".
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Mr Sunak blasted the "appalling miscarriage of justice" and it is "important those people get the justice they deserve" - as he vows to look at all ways to put it right.
He said ministers are "looking at" the option of exonerating all postmasters involved in the scandal.
In 2021, 39 Postmasters had their convictions overturned after winning their case at the Court of Appeal.
Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Rishi Sunak said exonerating all postmasters was being studied by the Justice Secretary.
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Asked if the Government would remove the Post Office's ability to investigate and prosecute, he said: "The Justice Secretary is looking at the things that you've described, it wouldn't be right to pre-empt that process, obviously there's legal complexity in all of those things but he is looking at exactly those areas."
He added: "Everyone has been shocked by watching what they have done over the past few days and beyond and it is an appalling miscarriage of justice.
"Obviously it's something that happened in the '90s but actually seeing it and hearing about it again just shows what an appalling miscarriages of justice it is for everyone affected and it's important that those people now get the justice they deserve, and that's what the compensation schemes are about.
"The Government has paid out about £150 million to thousands of people already. Of course we want to get the money to the people as quickly as possible, that's why there are interim payments of up to, I think, £600,000 that can be made.
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"There are three different schemes available and for anyone affected they should come forward."
More than 700 Post Office branch managers were handed criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software called Horizon made it appear as though money was missing from their outlets.
Between its launch and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted based on information provided by Horizon, which was later found to have “bugs, errors and defects”.
Victims were forced to declare bankruptcy, pay off sizeable sums out of their own pocket, sell their homes, and some even spent time in prison.
The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was slammed after a letter revealed the then Postal Affairs Minister had turned down a request for talks with the Justice for SubPostmasters Alliance.
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The May 2010 correspondence to the group from Sir Ed said: “Whilst I do appreciate your concerns, I do not believe a meeting would serve any useful purpose.”
He has claimed he was “deeply misled by Post Office executives” and was blocked from meeting campaigners.
On Saturday, Metropolitan Police detectives revealed they are now looking at whether fraud offences were committed in the handling of the scandal.
It says it is focusing on money clawed back as a result of prosecutions and civil action.
However, it is unclear whether the probe relates to individual staff or the Post Office as a corporate entity.
The scandal has now become a hit ITV drama called Mr Bates Vs The Post Office starring Toby Jones.
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7 WHO WERE NEVER HELD TO ACCOUNT
WHILE innocent sub-postmasters had their lives ruined in the Horizon IT scandal, a string of political and corporate figures escaped unscathed.
ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office showed how the organisation’s bigwigs fought a lengthy battle to suppress the truth.
Some 700 innocent people were convicted, with at least 263 jailed.
Here are some big names who were not held accountable.
SIR ED DAVEY: LIB DEM LEADER
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HE was, at the time, the minister for postal affairs, but initially refused to see lead campaigner Alan Bates, telling him a meeting would not serve “any useful purpose”.
Dismissed concerns about how the Horizon IT system was to blame for losses.
PAULA VENNELLS: CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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FORMER priest who presided over what PM Rishi Sunak said was an “appalling miscarriage of justice”.
Backed policy of aggressively pursuing sub-postmasters over PO’s “losses”.
Accused of burying the scandal and giving misleading information to MPs.
ANGELA VAN DEN BOGERD: DIRECTOR
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WAS in charge of complaints about Horizon from 2010.
High Court judge Peter Fraser criticised her testimony, saying she had a “disregard for factual accuracy”.
Clung to her job — and six-figure salary — until May 2020.
ALICE PERKINS: POST OFFICE CHAIRWOMAN
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CALLED in to address MPs’ concerns over the Horizon system.
A former civil servant earning £100,000 a year in her part-time job from 2011 to 2015, she had plenty of experience mixing with politicians.
Married to ex-Home Secretary Jack Straw.
ADAM CROZIER: EX-CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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WAS chief exec before Vennells and Britain’s highest-paid civil servant, taking home over £3million in pay and bonuses a year.
Under his leadership, scores of innocent sub-postmasters were convicted.
Became ITV boss. Does not feature in ITV drama.
TIM PARKER: CHAIRMAN
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PRIVATE equity tycoon who followed Alice Perkins as chairman in 2015.
Negotiated a £75,000 a year salary for a day-and-half working week — donating it to charity.
Helped fire 555 former sub-postmasters, using highly-aggressive legal strategy.
MICHAEL KEEGAN: FUJITSU BOSS
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UK chief executive and chairman of the tech company behind the botched Horizon IT system.
Maintains that during his time as CEO he only made one decision on Horizon, which was to cancel a tender to provide a new version of it to the Post Office.
‘I thought I was going mad over lost cash’
EXCLUSIVE by Daniel Hammond
A FORMER postmistress who lost everything due to the Post Office’s Horizon IT system says she wants to bring a legal case after seeing the ITV drama on the scandal.
Cheryl Shaw, 73, said she had to top up bogus losses at her branch with her own cash — even taking out loans.
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But when she told Post Office bosses of her problems, she was told it was her fault.
Having seen Mr Bates vs The Post Office this week, Cheryl said: “It’s so difficult with everything coming back.
“When you see them lying on the television show, saying you’re the only one, it makes me feel absolutely furious.”
Cheryl sold the branch in Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, in 2008 after five years and having lost of tens of thousands of pounds.
As her debts worsened, she sold her home, moved into smaller properties and took a new job as a carer.
It was only in 2014 when she read about a report calling Horizon “not fit for purpose” that she realised she was not alone — but she had no idea of the scale of the problem until the TV show.
She said she was losing as much as £400 a week, adding: “I used to ring up the Post Office and they sent people down to see me.
“I said, ‘I want you to go through the accounts for me and show me how I’m doing it wrong’.
“This chap would come down and say what he told all the others on the television show — ‘Nobody else has got this problem’.
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“And that’s what they used to say to me.
“It was dreadful — I used to think that I was going mad.”
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