MPs are expected to put increasing pressure on the courts to overturn hundreds of convictions of Post Office workers who were wrongly accused of stealing money because of faulty accounting software.
Conservative David Davis MP is leading the charge of politicians with Labour member Kevan Jones, with both men calling for action over what has been called the “biggest miscarriage of justice” in British history.
In 2019, the High Court ruled the Horizon IT software contained “bugs, errors and defects” and there was a “material risk” it had caused shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts.
Between 1999 and 2015 more than 700 people were wrongly prosecuted using data from the Horizon IT system, some 93 convictions have now been overturned and over £138million paid out in compensation.
A public inquiry into the scandal is ongoing but many more former subpostmasters are still seeking justice with some dying before they ever had chance to clear their name.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning Kevan Jones MP welcomed police involvement now in the process after the Met said it was looking at “potential fraud offences”.
Mr Jones said the recent ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office had been a “powerful” reminder for the public about the “victims” of the dispute between the Post Office and workers.
He said: “I think what was so powerful about the actual drama was that it concentrated on the actual victims and also the fantastic work of Alan Bates and the campaigners.”
Mr Jones added he would be looking for answers over how the Post Office were allowed to spend “nearly £100 million of taxpayers’ money” fighting Mr Bates and the subpostmasters in court to “beat these people into silence”.
The MP for North Durham also told the Times newspaper: “It is quite clear from the evidence presented to the public inquiry and in court, that the victims of this scandal should have their convictions quashed and their good names restored.”
A petition calling for former Post Office chief Paula Vennells to be stripped of the CBE she received for services to the Post Office and charity has now reached nearly 850,000 signatures.
Ms Vennells was awarded the honour in 2019 despite overseeing the Post Office during some of the time in which the organisation vociferously pursued legal action against employees because of the Horizon software.
Speaking before the Christmas recess which ends tomorrow, Mr Jones said he had written on numerous occasions to the Honours Forfeiture Committee to get the honour removed from Ms Vennells, but he had yet to receive an answer.
David Davis MP will be leading calls on Monday for the Post Office top brass responsible for carrying out the aggressive campaign against workers and for denying any glitches in the faulty IT system to be identified and prosecuted, the Times reports.
Mr Davis is also likely to seek the provider of the software, Fujitsu, to be blocked from government contracts and the Post Office stripped of powers to carry out private prosecutions.
In December the Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill cleared all stages in the Commons. The Bill seeks to ensure those affected do not miss out on compensation by allowing payments to be made after the August 2024 deadline.
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “Over 300,000 have suffered in some way as a result of this scandal, for some it meant paying the Post Office money they didn’t owe and for others it meant the loss of their livelihoods, their home, their mental or physical health, or their family relationships.
“Too many have died before getting justice, saddest of all some of those deaths were suicides.”
