Latest news with #HorizonIT
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Criminal trials linked to Post Office Horizon scandal could wait until 2028
Criminal trials stemming from the Post Office Horizon scandal might not get underway until 2028, according to the police officer leading the investigation. Commander Stephen Clayman said police are 'making some real progress' but warned it would take time as they widen the investigation from people 'involved in the immediate decision-making'. He told the BBC: 'The teams need to be really meticulous and pay attention to detail. 'We are beginning to scope, looking at wider management. That will happen, and is happening, it will just take time to get there.' The investigation, known as Operation Olympos, is focusing on potential crimes of perjury and perverting the court of justice, linked to the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system. Police have said the inquiry is 'unprecedented' in size, with potentially more than 3,000 victims and evidence currently including more than 1.5 million documents that have to be reviewed and forces across the UK involved. No decision will be made over potential criminal charges until the public inquiry into the scandal has published its final report and investigators have 'thoroughly reviewed' its contents. It is understood that dozens of people have been classed as persons of interest in the investigation. The investigation has identified seven suspects, according to the BBC. Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall told the BBC victims were 'desperate to see some kind of accountability', but backed the need for police to 'do it properly'. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government saying that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts. The scandal is one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in British legal history. A Post Office spokesperson said: 'Post Office has co-operated fully and openly with the Metropolitan Police since early 2020 to provide whatever information it needs for its investigations.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Post Office scandal culprits ‘may not face justice before 2028'
Those responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face justice until 2028, the police officer leading the investigation has warned. Commander Stephen Clayman said it will take longer for criminal trials to begin as police widen the investigation beyond people 'involved in the immediate decision-making'. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from Post Office accounts. Hundreds of wrongly convicted sub-postmasters are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government saying that those who have had their convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts. The scandal marked one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in British legal history. It is understood that dozens of people have been classed as persons of interest in the investigation, with seven suspects identified. However, Mr Clayman told the BBC: 'The teams need to be really meticulous and pay attention to detail. 'We are beginning to scope, looking at wider management. That will happen and is happening – it will just take time to get there.' Victims 'desperate for accountability' The investigation, known as Operation Olympos, has focused on perjury and perverting the court of justice during the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system. Police have described the inquiry as 'unprecedented' in size, with more than 3,000 potential victims and 1.5 million documents to be reviewed as evidence. No decision about potential criminal charges will be made until the scandal's public inquiry has published its final report and investigators have 'thoroughly reviewed' its contents. Tim Brentnall, a former sub-postmaster, said victims were 'desperate to see some kind of accountability', but supported the need for police to 'do it properly'. A spokesman for the Post Office said: 'Post Office has co-operated fully and openly with the Metropolitan Police since early 2020 to provide whatever information it needs for its investigations.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Criminal trials linked to Post Office Horizon scandal could wait until 2028
Criminal trials stemming from the Post Office Horizon scandal might not get underway until 2028, according to the police officer leading the investigation. Commander Stephen Clayman said police are 'making some real progress' but warned it would take time as they widen the investigation from people 'involved in the immediate decision-making'. He told the BBC: 'The teams need to be really meticulous and pay attention to detail. 'We are beginning to scope, looking at wider management. That will happen, and is happening, it will just take time to get there.' The investigation, known as Operation Olympos, is focusing on potential crimes of perjury and perverting the court of justice, linked to the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system. Police have said the inquiry is 'unprecedented' in size, with potentially more than 3,000 victims and evidence currently including more than 1.5 million documents that have to be reviewed and forces across the UK involved. No decision will be made over potential criminal charges until the public inquiry into the scandal has published its final report and investigators have 'thoroughly reviewed' its contents. It is understood that dozens of people have been classed as persons of interest in the investigation. The investigation has identified seven suspects, according to the BBC. Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall told the BBC victims were 'desperate to see some kind of accountability', but backed the need for police to 'do it properly'. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government saying that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts. The scandal is one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in British legal history. A Post Office spokesperson said: 'Post Office has co-operated fully and openly with the Metropolitan Police since early 2020 to provide whatever information it needs for its investigations.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Post Office criminal trials may not be until 2028
Criminal trials over the Post Office Horizon IT scandal may not start until 2028, the police officer leading the investigation has told the BBC. "The teams need to be really meticulous and [pay] attention to detail, but actually we are making some real progress," Met Cdr Stephen Clayman said. The investigation has identified seven suspects, and has 45 to 50 potential suspects in view. But it will not hand files to prosecutors until after the final report from the public inquiry into the scandal is published, expected later this year. Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall said victims were "desperate to see some kind of accountability", but added the police should "do it properly". The Horizon IT system, which began operating in 1999, falsely created shortfalls in Post Office branches for which sub-postmasters were held liable. More than 900 people were prosecuted, and some went to prison. Some died while waiting for justice. Last year a law was passed to overturn those convictions en masse. The criminal investigation into the scandal, Operation Olympos, began in 2020, and interviewed two suspects in 2021. It scaled up activity after the public phase of the inquiry concluded in December last year, and another two people were interviewed under caution, where their answers can be used as evidence in court. Both were men in their 60s. Cdr Clayman said the police started with "those at the front line – the Post Office investigators, solicitors, those who were involved in the immediate decision-making". But he added: "We are beginning to scope looking at wider management. That will happen, and is happening, it will just take time to get there." He is confident there will be criminal trials, but admits that the first ones may not start until 2028. The chair of the public inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, will publish Volume 1 of his final report on 8 July and is expected to file Volume 2 later this year. Then the police will have to go through it "meticulously", hand files to the Crown Prosecution Service, and wait for a court date, said Cdr Clayman. "This isn't uncommon," he said. "Other large investigations linked to a public inquiry have exactly the same thing. And I really do understand the frustration for those who are at the centre of this, who are the victims." Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall from Roch, Pembrokeshire, was prosecuted in 2010 when a £22,500 shortfall was discovered at his branch. His conviction was overturned in 2021. "The way the Post Office prosecuted me was completely and wholly wrong, [I was] rushed in front of the courts like a rabbit in the headlights and told I was the only one in this position when I wasn't," he said. "But if the police have to take their time, they should take their time and do it properly." David Enright, a lawyer whose firm Howe and Co represented seven out of the 10 sub-postmasters who took part in the inquiry, said: "The fact is we have seen sub-postmaster after sub-postmaster die without ever seeing any true accountability. The question sub-postmasters ask themselves is: where is the urgency at the heart of the police investigation?" There are 108 officers working on Olympos, based in four regional hubs. Cdr Clayman was speaking at the Metropolitan Police's hub near the top of a high-rise police office block in Sutton, South London. The officers spend much of their days trawling through the millions of digitised documents which will make up much of the evidence in the cases. They began with 1.5 million, and that is set to rise to six million as more documents come to light. Every force in England and Wales are involved, as are the PSNI and Police Scotland. Cdr Clayman had earlier been critical of the Post Office for not handing information over fast enough, but said they were now being "quite good". Fujitsu, he said, were being "very co-operative". A Post Office spokesperson said: "The Post Office has co-operated fully and openly with the Metropolitan Police since early 2020 to provide whatever information it needs for its investigations, and we continue to do so." Why were hundreds of Post Office workers wrongly prosecuted? Post Office scandal victims claims not chased due to harassment fears
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Post Office scandal: Government has not done enough to ensure compensation for victims, committee of MPs finds
The government has not done enough to ensure all victims entitled to compensation from the Post Office scandal have applied for it, a report has found. Many current and former postmasters affected by Horizon IT failings and associated miscarriages of justice are not yet receiving fair and timely compensation, according to the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Only 21% of the 18,500 letters the Post Office sent to postmasters to make them aware of the Horizon Shortfall Scheme had been responded to, figures provided by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) show. About 5,000 further letters are expected to be sent in 2025. Long-time Post Office victims campaigner Sir Alan Bates told Sky News: "What is evident is that the PAC, along with ourselves, are dismayed about the length of time all this is taking and the failure of all victims to be contacted. "It really only goes to support what I have been saying time and time again, that government departments are the entirely wrong people to run these types of schemes as they only grind them into the dust with bureaucracy." Under the scheme, current and former postmasters who were financially affected by the Horizon IT system, but who were either not convicted or did not take the Post Office to the High Court, can either settle their claim for a final fixed sum of £75,000 or have it fully assessed. There is also the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS), which is for sub-postmasters who had their convictions quashed after the passing of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act last year. The 800 or so sub-postmasters who are eligible to claim under the HCRS are entitled to a £600,000 full and final settlement, or the option to pursue a full claim assessment. By the end of March, 339 had accepted the settlement sum, the report by the PAC, which is made up of MPs from all sides of the House of Commons, found. But the PAC report states the government has no plans to follow up with people who are, or may be, eligible to claim but are yet to apply. 3:09 The committee recommends that the DBT should outline what more it will do to ensure every affected postmaster is fully aware of their options for claiming. A third scheme provides compensation to sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting. Of the 111 sub-postmasters eligible to claim for the Overturned Convictions Scheme and who are either entitled to a £600,000 full and final settlement, or to pursue a full claim assessment, 25 have not yet submitted a claim, some of whom represent the most complex cases. The DBT has taken over the management of the scheme from the Post Office, and the PAC report recommends the department should outline how it plans to handle the remaining cases under the scheme. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, said thousands of people were "deeply failed" by the system during "one of the UK's worst ever miscarriages of justice". He added: "This committee would have hoped to have found government laser-focused on ensuring all those eligible were fully and fairly compensated for what happened. "It is deeply dissatisfactory to find these schemes still moving far too slowly, with no government plans to track down the majority of potential claimants who may not yet be aware of their proper entitlements. "It is entirely unacceptable that those affected by this scandal, some of whom have had to go through the courts to clear their names, are being forced to relitigate their cases a second time."
