The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is looking on more of the 736 subpostmasters prosecuted for monetary crimes primarily based on laptop proof from the Post Office to come forward to have their convictions reviewed.
A complete of 83 former subpostmaster legal convictions have been overturned since April 2021. This yr, as a part of its work reviewing victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, the CCRC has written to 326 individuals who may have been wrongly convicted of theft and fraud – however solely 39 individuals have responded thus far.
When, in 2000, the Post Office changed guide accounting practices with the Horizon laptop system from Fujitsu, subpostmasters started reporting unexplained shortfalls in vital numbers. The Post Office advised every of them that no person else was experiencing issues and coated up the pc errors.
Former subpostmasters and department staff had been convicted of economic crimes after being blamed for unexplained accounting shortfalls in Post Office branches, a few of whom had been despatched to jail. Thousands suffered losses, many subpostmasters had been made bankrupt and there are suicides linked to the struggling triggered.
A High Court group litigation, which resulted in December 2019, proved that the pc system utilized in branches contained errors which may trigger unexplained shortfalls.
Despite broad media protection at present, many potential wrongful convictions haven’t been reviewed. CCRC chair Helen Pitcher stated: “Some former Post Office staff could also be unaware of the providers we provide, that are fully free to use. Others would possibly understandably nonetheless be traumatised by what has occurred to them and to their family members. But we will help, and we might encourage them to contact us. Seeking recommendation from us on how to problem a conviction would possibly finally lead to the case being overturned, and a miscarriage of justice being corrected.
“We need all of those that had been convicted and broken by these unprecedented failings to obtain the justice they deserve, if they need to problem their convictions.
“Some former Post Office workers may be unaware of the services we offer, which are completely free to use. Others might understandably still be traumatised by what has happened to them and to their loved ones. But we can help” Helen Pitcher, CCRC
The CCRC has this week referred its sixty fourth case again to the courts for attraction. The statutory physique additionally has an additional 24 circumstances underneath evaluation.
The newest referral is that of former Post Office clerk Amer Hussain, who was convicted of eight counts of theft in 2005, when he pleaded responsible at a Bristol Magistrates’ Court to eight counts of theft amounting to about £3,300. He was sentenced to a group punishment and curfew order, and ordered to pay compensation of £6,750.
The case was referred over issues in regards to the Horizon laptop system. Of the 83 former subpostmaster convictions which have been overturned, most had been referred to attraction by the CCRC.
Computer Weekly first reported on issues with the IT system in 2009, when it made public the tales of a bunch of subpostmasters being blamed for unexplained losses (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles beneath).
There is presently a statutory public inquiry into the scandal, which can run till autumn 2023. Hearings in section two of seven of the inquiry have simply been concluded.
