Why tons of have been wrongly prosecuted | EUROtoday

The Post Office Horizon scandal has been referred to as the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice, after tons of of individuals have been prosecuted on the idea of information from defective software program.

The scandal led to widespread public anger, partly on account of a success TV drama, and has been the topic of a prolonged inquiry.

The first a part of the report from the official inquiry into what occurred is because of be revealed on Tuesday 8 July.

More than 900 sub-postmasters have been prosecuted due to incorrect data from the Horizon pc system.

Many sub-postmasters went to jail for false accounting and theft, and others have been financially ruined.

The Post Office itself took many instances to courtroom, prosecuting 700 folks between 1999 and 2015. Another 283 instances have been introduced by different our bodies, together with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In 2017, a bunch of 555 sub-postmasters – led by campaigner Alan Bates, who has since been knighted – took authorized motion in a landmark courtroom case towards the Post Office.

In 2019, the Post Office agreed to pay the group £58m in compensation, however a lot of the cash went on authorized charges.

However, the motion paved the best way for dozens of sub-postmasters to have their convictions quashed in 2021.

The episode got here to wider public consideration final yr after it was depicted in an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

The outcry triggered by the drama led to laws being rushed via Parliament to herald a regulation quashing convictions from the Horizon scandal.

There at the moment are a variety of compensation schemes underneath approach, and as of two June 2025, greater than £1bn has been awarded to 1000’s of sub-postmasters throughout all schemes.

Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.

Some used their very own cash to cowl non-existent shortfalls as a result of their contracts mentioned they have been answerable for unexplained losses. Many confronted chapter or misplaced their livelihoods.

Marriages broke down, and a few households imagine the stress led to critical well being situations, habit and even untimely loss of life.

There is not a single compensation scheme for sub-postmasters to use to, and particular person eligibility is determined by the actual circumstances of every case.

The 4 fundamental schemes are aimed toward teams of victims who had completely different experiences of the scandal.

As of two June 2025, about £1.039bn has been awarded to only over 7,300 sub-postmasters throughout all 4 redress schemes. That whole breaks down as:

• Horizon Shortfall Scheme – £559m
• Group Litigation Order Scheme – £167m
• Overturned Convictions Scheme – £68m
• Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme – £245m

Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the unbiased Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, instructed the BBC that some particular person compensation claims have been “well over £1m”.

Horizon was developed by the Japanese firm Fujitsu, for duties reminiscent of accounting and stocktaking.

It was launched by the Post Office in 1999.

Sub-postmasters rapidly complained about bugs within the system after it falsely reported shortfalls, typically for a lot of 1000’s of kilos, however their issues have been dismissed.

The Horizon system remains to be utilized by the Post Office and maintained by Fujitsu. The Post Office says it has continued to make enhancements to the system whereas it plans “to move to a new system that is being developed”.

A public inquiry started in 2022 and heard proof from Post Office and Fujitsu workers.

Last yr, Sir Alan Bates appeared on the inquiry, telling it that the Post Office had spent 23 years attempting to “discredit and silence” him.

Paula Vennells, who was Post Office chief government between 2012 and 2019, gave proof in May 2024. She was quizzed for 3 days and at occasions broke down in tears. She apologised to the sub-postmasters and their households “who have suffered as a result of all that the inquiry has been looking into for so long”.

The first a part of the inquiry’s report is because of be revealed on Tuesday.

The inquiry turned nearly field workplace viewing – racking up greater than 20 million views on YouTube.

People with no connection to the Post Office instructed the BBC how they turned engrossed watching.