The Post Office scandal investigation heard from a “chorus of cowards” and a “parade of liars, bullies, forgetful and arrogant individuals”, lawyers for victims said in calling for criminal prosecution during a hearing in London.
Legal representatives of hundreds of post office operators whose lives were ruined targeted the men and women who testified in the past weeks in their closing speech at the final stage of the investigation.
Those criticized ranged from Fujitsu’s European boss Paul Patterson, who made vague promises of compensation, to mid-level Post Office staff who privately discussed the shredding of damning evidence, and incompetent investigators who were said to have bullied their targets for financial gain.
More than 900 branch managers were tracked down by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after Horizon accounting software developed by Fujitsu made it appear their branches had no money.
Evidence has been heard that Horizon was known to be riddled with errors and flaws from the beginning, but this was hidden from the prosecution of post office operators and the courts as the brand’s reputation and financial concerns took precedence over justice.
Sam Stein KC, who represents the largest number, said a “whitewash” report was prepared by the Post Office to hide the truth, while investigators “stalked and harassed and in some cases took decent and honest men and women to their graves”. of the victims.
Stein added that the only consolation was that the Metropolitan police were closely monitoring the trial, which has been going on since 2021 and will continue for a fifth trial in July.
“Phase four has pulled back the curtain on decades of massive fabrication and cover-up by the Post Office,” Stein said of the evidence that victims were disliked and despised by their employers. “Because ‘to quote a Post Office inspector’, they are all ‘scammers’”.
Addressing Sir Wyn Williams, the retired high court judge who chaired the inquiry, Stein said: “The Post Office knew the Horizon system was flawed but was still trying to prosecute sub-postmasters, take civil actions against postmasters and refuse to investigate these matters because the sub-postmasters were postmasters can catch the truth.
“We have seen liars, bullies, forgetful and arrogant individuals testify before you,” he said, and were treated as “subhuman treatment by sub-postmasters” and a “source of expendable cash.”
Stein added: “It is remarkable that for every witness who is flippant about his behavior, there are others who choose to claim amnesia…
“Of course, we know that the investigation will not lead to any findings regarding criminal or civil liability. “Our clients take some solace in the fact that the Metropolitan Police and the Solicitors Regulation Authority are monitoring the hearings closely.”
The inquest heard nearly 80 per cent of Post Office and Fujitsu victims have yet to come forward.
Those found guilty, bankrupt or forced to refund money to the Post Office for lack of paper should seek compensation, Stein said. “We are now proposing that there is nothing to fear from the Post Office,” he said. “They lost your reputation, they can’t hurt you anymore.”
Tim Moloney KC, who represented 76 post office operators wrongfully convicted based on Horizon records, said the investigation should ask whether those responsible at the Post Office, Fujitsu and the government “heard, did or did not hear any warning that Horizon was missing”. honesty because his ears were full of cash.”
The investigation was told that Post Office inspectors had financial and career incentives to pursue successful cases, while Fujitsu sought to defend government contracts. The post office is also believed to have benefited financially from “recovering” fraudulent funds from post office operators when in reality there was no shortage.
Despite the obvious injustice, “proposals for an independent external review in March 2010 were closed following contact between several senior managers, including the head of criminal law, the head of security and the head of product and practicality,” Maloney said.
He called for the witness statements heard in the investigation to be the beginning of a “serious criminal investigation” and for immediate compensation to be paid to those whose lives were ruined. “Tragically, postmasters continue to die without being offered appropriate, full and final compensation,” he said.
The inquiry will continue in the spring with evidence from former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells and current Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who was postal secretary between 2010 and 2012.