Hundreds of Post Office workers ‘vindicated’ by High Court ruling over faulty Post Office IT system

[cupid_stunt]

The Met is starting a national investigation into the scandal, but will not seek charging decisions until after the public inquiry is completed towards the end of next year.

I don't expect much to come of it TBH, but I would be happy to be surprised, as they are throwing a lot of resources at it.

Police are planning to deploy 80 detectives for their criminal inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the Guardian has learned, but victims will face a long wait to discover if charges will follow.

The investigation will examine potential offences of perjury, and perverting the course of justice by Post Office senior leaders as well as the tech company Fujitsu.

Police have already started discussions with prosecutors about the investigation and potential criminal charges, which stem from the possibility that post office operators were wrongly prosecuted for stealing when bosses allegedly knew their computer accounting system could be flawed.

The police operation will be national and split into four regional hubs. The staffing and resources will be similar to a major murder or terrorism investigation. Police have asked government for a special grant of at least £6.75m to fund the operation.

Early work has identified at least 20 potential suspects, but more could follow as the criminal inquiries get fully under way. One source said there could be dozens of potential suspects.

The team, once up and running, will consider whether the offence of fraud should also be added to the list of offences that should be examined. The special case work division of the CPS is advising police on the Post Office investigation and deals with complex cases.

Post Office scandal: Police to deploy 80 detectives for criminal inquiry

Exclusive: Investigation will dig into potential perjury offences and perverting the course of justice by senior leaders and Fujitsu

www.theguardian.com

 

[two sheds]

I wonder whether we'll have a full and exhaustive inquiry by the Met lasting a full 20 years with a decision that it's too late now and anyway wouldn't be in the public interest to bring charges.

 

[alex_]

I wonder whether we'll have a full and exhaustive inquiry by the Met lasting a full 20 years with a decision that it's too late now and anyway wouldn't be in the public interest to bring charges.

It’s initial conclusion will be to blame the only 3 black sub-postmasters they can find for everything.

20 years of subsequent investigations will conclude this was incorrect, at which point lessons will have been learned, etc, etc, etc.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

HIGNFY had good point, that if Labour get in at election, they may want to make example of PV if only for the optics (looks at us, we're different, we wont stand for this - sort if thing)

If she goes to jail for whatever reason (imho) then thats good. They got Al Capone on tax evasion , didnt they?

 

[SpookyFrank]

It's the CPS/police who decide, not the government. But obviously everyone can be leant on.

 

[GarveyLives]

(Source: Australia Media)​

Jane MacLeod, the Post Office’s general counsel between 2015 and 2019, has been located and challenged on her refusal to attend the Post Office Inquiry ... and has responded by running away.

 

[Wilf]

I wonder whether we'll have a full and exhaustive inquiry by the Met lasting a full 20 years with a decision that it's too late now and anyway wouldn't be in the public interest to bring charges.

Rings a bell.

 

[not a trot]

Alan Bates has been knighted.

 

[planetgeli]

Alan Bates has been knighted.

Hope he refuses it, but when it's allowed to become public I think that means they've accepted.

Ditto Armando Iannucchi (CBE)

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Find it odd he’s accepted it off a monarch who’s courts have been the place where so many lives were wrecked.

 

[rasputin]

Find it odd he’s accepted it off a monarch who’s courts have been the place where so many lives were wrecked.

The courts are also the places where justice will finally be done. It's rather stretching a point to blame the King for this horrific mess.

At least Alan Bates' knighthood will not have the absurd "British Empire" moniker.

 

[editor]

Find it odd he’s accepted it off a monarch who’s courts have been the place where so many lives were wrecked.

Maybe he thinks that by being a 'sir' he'll be able to exert more influence and pressure on the Post Office.

 

[quiet guy]

It's a big upgrade from the OBE he refused while Vennalls still had her gong but well deserved and accepted on behalf of all the wrongly accused post office operators.

 

[GarveyLives]

Ian Henderson, one of the the directors of independent forensic accountants Second Sight Support Services Limited gave evidence today at the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT inquiry today.

Henderson said that he came to believe that he was “dealing with a cover-up” by the Post Office, who made “various threats” against him.

Henderson told the inquiry that Paula Vennells, the then Post Office chief executive, “frequently and consistently attempted to steer Second Sight away from investigating potential miscarriages of justice”.

Henderson also alleged that a senior lawyer - Rodric Williams, a Post Office in-house solicitor - appeared to be involved in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice:

Post Office lawyer accused of conspiring to pervert course of justice

​

 

[two sheds]

Ex-Fujitsu engineer admits changing court testimony at request of Post Office

Gareth Jenkins, co-architect of flawed Horizon IT system, was expert witness in wrongful prosecutions of operators

www.theguardian.com

A former IT engineer has admitted he changed crucial expert court testimony at the request of the Post Office during wrongful prosecutions of branch operators.

Gareth Jenkins, a former senior engineer at the contractor Fujitsu, on Tuesday told the public inquiry into one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history that lawyers had asked him to change witness statements.

Jenkins, who was facing the first of four days of questioning at the judge-led hearings in London, also claimed that the Horizon IT software was “in general … working well”, despite its central role in the scandal.

I've seen dodgy looking 'expert witnesses' in cases before - but accepting expert testimony from one of the architects of the system that is at fault is just strange.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Ex-Fujitsu engineer admits changing court testimony at request of Post Office

Gareth Jenkins, co-architect of flawed Horizon IT system, was expert witness in wrongful prosecutions of operators

www.theguardian.com

I've seen dodgy looking 'expert witnesses' in cases before - but accepting expert testimony from one of the architects of the system that is at fault is just strange.

I keep thinking someone might actually see the inside of a prison cell, but the law is there to protect those people, not to work against them.

 

[hash tag]

Nice to see Paula Vennells was also remembered last night in Lewes.
Alan Bates is still having to fight for faster compensation.