U.K. Police Investigate ‘Potential Fraud Offenses’ in Post Office Scandal.

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Metropolitan Police are investigating potential fraud offenses related to a years-long scandal where the Post Office wrongfully convicted its employees because of faulty software. The saga, commonly referred to as the “Post Office scandal,” is at the forefront of the public’s mind once again, following the TV series Mr Bates vs the Post Office airing on U.K. TV. The show, and the attention surrounding it, has brought forward new potential victims.

The Met Police had already been looking into potential offenses of perjury and perverting the course of justice related to prosecutions and investigations carried out by the Post Office. The force opened an investigation in January 2020 into matters concerning Fujitsu Horizon, the name of the company and its software, and the Post Office following a referral from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Met Police tells TIME in an email.

U.K. Police Probe 'Potential Fraud' in Post Office Scandal

Police are investigating potential fraud offenses related to the Post Office wrongfully convicting employees.

time.com

 

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^ Japanese tech company Fujitsu Services developed and began operating the Horizon IT financial software services for the Post Office in 1999. Employees said they reported issues with the software from the start, but claimed the Post Office brushed off their concerns or said the issues were the fault of the individual branch managers.

CCRC, which reviewed the wrongful convictions, said that “Horizon appeared to have significant bugs which could cause the system to misreport, sometimes involving substantial sums of money which sub-postmasters found difficult to challenge as they were unable to access information about the software to do so.”

As a result, between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 sub-postmasters were accused of wrongdoing, leading to prosecutions, criminal convictions and, in some cases, prison sentences, the BBC reported. Postmasters found guilty were ordered to pay the Post Office for the money they were accused of stealing, leading in some cases to bankruptcy and financial ruin. Victims and their families have reported that wrongful convictions contributed to addiction, illness and suicides.

 

[luiza]

It does appear to be a terrible example of everything imaginable going wrong and the Post Office behaving in ways usually seen in fascist led institutions .
The damage done to several hundred people was and is horrific with at least four taking their own lives .
Now that the full facts are clear ,everybody is doing everything possible to right as many terrible wrongs as possible .
Obviously far too late and too little , as so often happens when the little person tries to take on a huge corporation and "the system"
A base line fault does appear to be an antiquated law dating over 400 years which allows the Post Office to prosecute independently of the normal system and procedures .

Many ordinary people were terribly wronged with incalculable misery spread far and wide