Police to probe Put up Workplace over ‘potential fraud offences’ in wake of Horizon scandal that resulted in additional than 700 subpostmasters wrongfully convicted for ‘stealing’

The Put up Workplace is underneath felony investigation for fraud after the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters.

Scotland Yard confirmed final night time that the organisation is being investigated by detectives for alleged fraud offences over their dealing with of the Horizon scandal.

Practically 100 sub-postmasters have been wrongly convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting because of the bug-ridden Horizon IT system.

Greater than 700 workers had their lives ruined between 1999 and 2015, after they have been accused of the crimes and dragged by way of the courts on the idea of proof gathered by the unreliable pc programme.

For greater than 20 years, former Put up Workplace workers fought to clear their names. Now they’re able the place these accountable for their struggling are underneath investigation.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police instructed The Occasions that officers are ‘investigating potential fraud offences arising out of those prosecutions’, referring to ‘monies recovered from sub-postmasters on account of prosecutions or civil actions’.

It isn’t clear whether or not the Put up Workplace as an entire, or people, are being investigated.

Jo Hamilton, 66, a former sub-postmaster from Hampshire, stated: ‘They’ve made folks’s lives a distress they usually have dedicated crimes. It isn’t simply a pc downside — that is absolute corruption at its worst, state-sponsored corruption.’

Paul Marshall, a barrister who represents a number of of the wrongly convicted postmasters, stated: ‘The emergence of in-formation suggesting that the Met police is taking a look at fraud in reference to the Put up Workplace’s conduct is wholly unsurprising.

‘As soon as it’s accepted that postmasters weren’t experiencing actual shortfalls at their branches, the cash that the Put up Workplace obtained from them, by way of calls for… have been themselves improper calls for for cash and cash that was obtained unlawfully.

‘The fact due to this fact seems to have been that the Put up Workplace obtained giant sums of cash from its postmasters on grounds that have been false and that have been recognized by it to be false.’

There’s presently a public inquiry into the fiasco, which has not too long ago been dramatisied in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Put up Workplace.

Because the four-part drama aired 50 former workers have come ahead, with 5 in search of to attraction their convictions.

Information that the Put up Workplace is being investigated for fraud comes simply days after legal professionals to the inquiry stated there may be sufficient proof to convey an investigation for perverting the course of justice.

The spokesman from the Met acknowledged this, including: ‘The Met is investigating potential offences of perjury and per-verting the course of justice.

‘These potential offences come up out of investigations and prosecutions carried out by the Put up Workplace.

The investigation was launched in January 2020 following a referral from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Two folks have been interviewed underneath warning.

‘No one has been arrested.’

It’s perceive that high felony prosecutor Tom Little KC has been approached to evaluation the proof amassed and to contemplate whether or not a prosecution could be introduced.

A spokesman for the Put up Workplace stated: ‘We share absolutely the goals of the general public inquiry to get to the reality of what went unsuitable up to now and set up accountability. It is for the inquiry to achieve its personal in-dependent conclusions after consideration of all of the proof on the problems that it’s analyzing. It might be inappropriate for the Put up Workplace to touch upon any police investigation.’