The wrongful convictions of hundreds of subpostmasters due to faulty digital accounting software has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.
The scandal has recently come back into the spotlight following ITV’s four-part drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what the scandal is all about:
– What is Horizon?
The Horizon IT system is accounting software, owned by Japanese company Fujitsu, which saw accounts automated after subpostmasters entered their sales figures via a touchscreen.
– What problems were being caused by Horizon?
Subpostmasters started experiencing unexplained shortfalls in their accounts and were liable for losses under their contract with the Post Office.
– What did the Post Office do when subpostmasters suffered shortfalls in their accounts
The Post Office ordered subpostmasters to pay back the money that was lost and were told they could face prosecution if they did not comply.
– What happened to subpostmasters who experienced shortfalls but could not pay the money back?
More than 700 subpostmasters were handed criminal convictions for allegations such as theft and false accounting – with many sent to prison or bankrupted.
– When were the shortfalls attributed to the faulty computer software rather than subpostmasters?
In December 2019, a High Court judge ruled that Horizon contained a number of “bugs, errors and defects” and there was a “material risk” that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
– How many subpostmasters have had their convictions overturned since the 2019 judgment?
A total of 93 subpostmasters have had their convictions overturned to date but hundreds more have not yet come forward.
– Why has the scandal come to light again?
The Post Office Horizon IT scandal has been put in the spotlight again following the release of ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring actor Toby Jones.
– Who is Alan Bates?
Alan Bates was a subpostmaster who was accused of theft when his money stock counts did not match those of the digital accounting system.
He was contractually obliged to pay back the “losses” from his own pocket, and, despite first reporting issues with Horizon in 2000, he had his contract terminated in 2003 when he refused to comply with Post Office policy.
Mr Bates led the campaign group Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance to its High Court victory in 2019.
– Why are people calling for Paula Vennells to have her CBE withdrawn?
More than a million people have signed a petition calling for the former Post Office boss to lose her CBE after the ITV drama was released.
People have called for her to be stripped of her honour after overseeing the Post Office throughout the time subpostmasters were wrongly convicted.
– Has anyone been held criminally responsible for the miscarriage of justice?
The Metropolitan Police said they are looking at “potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions”; for example, “monies recovered from subpostmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions”.
Two Fujitsu experts, who were witnesses in the trials, are being investigated for perjury and perverting the course of justice – but nobody has been arrested since the inquiry was launched in January 2020.
– How much compensation has been paid to victims of the scandal?
Around £138 million has been paid out to around 2,700 subpostmasters across three compensation schemes, the Post Office recently said.
Hundreds of others are still waiting for compensation.
– What happens next?
A public inquiry looking into the failings of the Horizon system and the wrongful convictions of subpostmasters is due to finish this year.
Rishi Sunak confirmed British justice secretary Alex Chalk is considering ways of helping to clear the names of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters.
