No Trials earlier than 2027, say police | EUROtoday

Police investigating crimes linked to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal are “dozens” of potential suspects, however do not count on trials to start till 2027.

Police are investigating doable crimes by Post Office and Fujitsu workers and exterior legal professionals, following the wrongful prosecution of a whole lot of subpostmasters after defective Horizon software program stated cash was lacking from their Post Office department accounts.

Three suspects have already been interviewed beneath warning and there are plans to interview others subsequent yr, in line with police.

But nobody shall be charged till officers have learn the ultimate report from the separate public inquiry, nearly 30 years after issues have been first raised.

Lee Castleton, a sub-Postmaster from Bridlington in North Yorkshire who was bankrupted in 2004 after dropping a two-year battle with the Post Office over Horizon, stated: “I can’t understand why it’s taken so long, I can’t understand why things are having to be gone over and over and over… But you know, never give in, we’ll get there.”

The first media experiences of Horizon issues have been printed by Computer Weekly in 2009. Alan Bates and his fellow sub-postmasters’ received the primary of their two High Court victories in March 2019, eight years earlier than the primary prison trials are set to start.

Some 100 officers from round England and Wales at the moment are engaged on what they’ve known as Operation Olympos, which started in 2020. The investigation shall be led by the Metropolitan Police in London, whereas Police Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and National Crime Agency are additionally concerned.

Commander Steve Clayman, who’s main the investigation, stated: “We have got, we think, over 3,000 people affected in some way, by Horizon. So it’s huge and we have got to put in a commensurate number of officers.”

The first part of the investigation will give attention to these making “key decisions” on investigations and prosecutions, doable offences of perjury and the intense offence of perverting the course of justice.

A second part will forged the web wider, doubtlessly taking in senior publish workplace executives.

Work is already underway on constructing among the circumstances, and police are in common dialogue with the Crown Prosecution Service.

The first trials might contain circumstances from both part, police stated, however timescales and the numbers of potential suspects may change as extra proof is gathered.

Officers are already working with 1.5 million paperwork within the case and count on this quantity to develop.

The investigation has additionally launched a web based portal to permit sub-postmasters and others to submit proof to the investigation.