Post Office Survey: Four key moments and what happens next | Business News

The Post Office Horizon IT scandal may well be “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.

Jason Beer KC, lawyer for the inquiry investigating the scandal, did not put it this way lightly.

After four years of much struggle, senior executives brought to tears, and countless heartbreaking stories about the damage done to the personal lives of sub-postmasters, the Post Office Consultation finished gathering his key evidence.

It was created to investigate why more than 700 subpostmasters were unfairly prosecuted and found to be criminals for theft and false accounting – when in fact the faulty Horizon IT system manufactured by Fujitsu was to blame.

That is why Mr Beer raised the issue so vehemently.

The inquiry has sought to establish when the Post Office knew that the sub-postmasters were not responsible, why the Post Office never overturned the proceedings and whether there was a cover-up.

Throughout the process, we heard alarms raised by external lawyers, people from the Post Office, the media and, above all, activists.

Some of the appearances at the inquest were shocking, revealing and moving.

Here, Sky News explores some of the key moments from the investigation.

‘Subbies with their hands in the box’

No exchange compared to an email from the former administrative director of Correios Alan Cookwho insisted that the subpostmasters and not technology were to blame.

This occurred despite victims consistently denying involvement.

It was during his testimony that an email was read – which said account deficits were limited to “subscribers with their hands on the cash register [who] choose to blame technology when it turns out they are short of money.”

Cook said it was an expression he would “regret for the rest of his life.”

He also highlighted systemic failures at the Post Office.

He claimed he “didn’t know” that the Postal Service had brought lawsuits — and that it didn’t appear that the Postal Service “had a crisis on its hands.”

‘I think you knew’

The appearance of Paula Vennelles was probably the most prominent profile of the investigation.

Hit ITV drama Bates vs Post Office placed Vennells – former executive president of Correios – at the center of the scandal.

At the inquest, she was reduced to tears more than once as she apologized for her role.

A recent text message exchange with Dame Moya Greene, former chief executive of Royal Mail, was one of the most damning moments for Vennells – which weakened his defense of not knowing what was happening with the lawsuits.

Dame Moya texted Vennells after the screening of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which reinvigorated interest in the scandal earlier this year, saying: “When it became clear the system was wrong, the Post Office should have raised a red flag. all procedures. They gave people their money back and then tried to compensate them for the ruin it caused in their lives.”

When Vennells responded that he agreed, Dame Moya said: “I don’t know what to say. I think you knew.

“I want to believe you. I asked twice. I suggested that you do an independent review reporting to you. I was afraid that you were lying. You said that the system had already been reviewed several times. How could you not to know? “

Dame Moya continued: “I can’t support him now.”

“I’ve supported you. All these years…to my own detriment. I can’t support you now, after what I’ve learned,” she added.

Dame Moya also supported this view when she gave evidence at the inquiry, saying: “I think she knew from the evidence that emerged at this inquiry that there were flaws in the system.”

As expected, Ms Vennells denied any knowledge of the problems or miscarriages of justice and called the situation “complex”, adding that there were “some things I didn’t know…I wish I had known”.

Post office told to stop processing – but continued

The Postal Service was told, years before the convictions were halted, that a key witness used to prosecute subpostmasters was unreliable.

Lawyer Simon Clarke told the inquiry he was made aware of this after finding serious errors and “an almost religious panic” about the Horizon IT system.

He wrote important legal advice in 2013 that made clear to executives the issue of past lawsuits.

Clarke named Fujitsu’s Horizon IT architect Gareth Jenkins as a “tainted” and “unreliable witness.”

In a dossier commissioned by the Post Office, Clarke said Gareth Jenkins breached his judicial duties by failing to disclose known problems and bugs with Horizon.

These known problems may have allowed the subpostmasters to challenge their convictions and have their criminal records expunged.

Clarke also insisted that the Post Office should not use Gareth Jenkins as a witness and recommended that all processes be reviewed.

But, as has happened so many times in the history of the scandal, the Postal Service ignored this advice by failing to review the processes and continuing to prosecute sub-postmasters until 2015.

Mr Jenkins is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of perjury.

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Pregnant woman sent to prison in ‘test case’

Each story told by sub-postmasters affected by the Post Office scandal highlighted the enormous scale of the damage done to their lives.

Sub-postmaster Seema Misra’s conviction was hailed as “brilliant news” in an email between Post Office executives, the inquiry found – despite her sentence including 15 months in prison and having to serve four months while pregnant.

The inquiry also heard that Post Office executives and lawyers treated her as a “test case” – if her prosecution was deemed successful, then senior officials said this proved Horizon was “robust”.

In response, Misra told Sky News: “How can they do a test on a human?”

“I am a living creature,” she added.

When Mr Jenkins – the expert who testified in court defending Horizon – was called to give evidence at the inquiry, he apologized to Ms Misra.

Jenkins said he didn’t understand his duty of disclosure as an expert witness at the time — and tried fervently to play down the idea that he misled the court or withheld information.

Ms. Misra rejected his apology.

What’s next for the investigation?

The final phase of the inquiry will begin in the autumn – it will analyze the Postal Service’s current practices and make recommendations for the future.

A report will also be published – although it is unclear when this will happen specifically.

Inquiry chair Sir Wyn Williams previously said this will happen “as soon as reasonably practicable”, after hearing about current practices in September.

The president can also refer executives and those who worked at the Post Office and Fujitsu to the police – if he considers a criminal investigation necessary.