Latest news with #PostOfficeScandal
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Hampshire Post Office victim 'still at war' as she gets OBE
A victim of the Post Office computer scandal has said she will continue to fight for compensation for colleagues, as she received an OBE at Buckingham Hamilton, 68, was falsely prosecuted in 2006 for a £36,000 shortfall at her branch in South Warnborough, accepted a financial settlement in 2024, but said it was "wicked" that 138 former sub-postmasters were still battling for Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it had paid more than £1bn so far. Mrs Hamilton, who received her honour for services to justice on Thursday, said: "Personally my claim's been settled but I cannot, cannot stop fighting until the rest of the group get paid. "We fought in the High Court in 2019 and it took years to even get it to court... 138 of those people are still fighting. One hundred are dead."And I just find the whole thing wicked that they cannot be fair with people."On Friday, police said seven suspects had been identified in connection with the criminal trial might be not be held until 2028, detectives Hamilton said the DBT had claimed that there was little money for compensation, although it had employed an "army of lawyers" to "grind us into submission".She added: "Basically the Business Department owned the Post Office and they prosecuted us and destroyed us and they're now in charge of the compensation."It really is the fox in charge of the henhouse."It should go to an independent body to be fair and they'd stop spending hundreds of millions they've spent on lawyers, which is obscene."The Horizon IT system, which began operating in 1999, falsely created shortfalls in Post Office branches for which sub-postmasters were held than 900 people were prosecuted and some went to prison. In a statement, DBT said: "We pay tribute to all the postmasters including Jo who have suffered from the Horizon scandal."We have quadrupled the total amount paid to victims with more than £1bn paid to thousands of postmasters across the UK and anyone unhappy with their offer can have their case reviewed by an independent panel of experts." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
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
