Post Office hands over secret emails that could reveal why subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted for fraud in IT system scandal
- The Post Office has agreed to hand over secret emails that could explain why hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted
- A public inquiry is under way to find out what happened, and 59 people have had their convictions overturned
- Insiders estimate that the inquiry will be given tens of millions of documents, spanning over 20 years
The Post Office has agreed to hand over secret emails from its lawyers which could explain why hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted for fraud, theft and false accounting, when a computer glitch was really to blame for financial irregularities.
A public inquiry is under way to find out what happened, and 59 people have had their convictions overturned.
Insiders estimate that the inquiry will be given tens of millions of documents, spanning over 20 years of e-mails and letters between Post Office staff and internal legal advisers, barristers and solicitors’ firms.
Postmasters accused of theft by Post Office celebrate outside the High Court In London after they had their convictions overturned
The documents will allow the inquiry to test claims made by the Post Office’s former chief executive, Paula Vennells, a part-time priest, that she was led astray by her legal advisers.
The Post Office does not legally have to hand over the papers but volunteered them at the request of the inquiry’s chairman, Sir Wyn Williams.
Postmasters had argued that it would be impossible to uncover how thousands of them were targeted without considering the advice given to senior managers by their lawyers.
The inquiry would have had no legal power to order the Post Office to hand over the documents if it had not voluntarily given it up, legal sources said.
Former Post Office worker Janet Skinner (centre) hugs family members after having her conviction relating to the Horizon IT scandal overturned in April of this year
Sir Wyn said: ‘There is now a great deal of work to be done in organising and obtaining disclosure of relevant documents statement here.’
A Post Office spokeswoman said: ‘Following the request by the inquiry chairman, the Post Office has agreed to waive relevant legal privilege for the purpose of the Inquiry to over 20 years of documentation, reflecting our desire to assist the Inquiry in obtaining the information necessary to complete their investigations.
‘While the Inquiries Act does not compel this step, and legal privilege is an important feature of our justice system, this is the right thing to do for all those affected by the Horizon IT scandal.’
It has declined to waive privilege in respect of the postmasters’ compensation scheme, the Historical Shortfall Scheme.
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