Post Office under investigation by police following new ITV drama which exposed scandal
The Post Office is now under investigation following the new ITV drama which has exposed a scandal, the Met Police has confirmed.
ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office has detailed how a number of sub postmasters were wrongly accused and convicted of theft and fraud due to an IT glitch in the system.
More than 700 Post Office branch managers were handed criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing from their outlets.
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It is being called one of the UK’s biggest miscarriage of justice and the story is currently being told in the four-part drama series.
After watching the show, some viewers said it left them feeling ‘sick’, as real-life former sub postmaster Bates - played by Toby Jones - is determined to fight against the scandal.
A release from ITV explains: “The drama tells the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
"Many of the wronged workers were prosecuted, some of whom were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably ruined by the scandal.
“Following the landmark Court of Appeal decision to overturn their criminal convictions, dozens of former sub postmasters and postmistresses have been exonerated on all counts as they battled to finally clear their names.
"They fought for over ten years finally proving their innocence and sealing a resounding victory, but all involved believe the fight is not over yet, not by a long way.”
Now, Metropolitan Police detectives have said they are looking at 'potential fraud offences' committed during the Horizon scandal.
Scotland Yard said on Friday evening officers were 'investigating potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions', for example 'monies recovered from sub-postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions'.
The force said: “The Met is investigating potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice.
“These potential offences arise out of investigations and prosecutions carried out by the Post Office.
“The investigation was launched in January 2020 following a referral from the DPP.
“Two people have been interviewed under caution. Nobody has been arrested.”
Hampshire postmistress Jo Hamilton, 66, who led a Court of Appeal fight in 2021, said: "They’ve made people’s lives a misery and they’ve committed crimes.
"It’s not just a computer problem, this is absolute corruption at its worst.”
A Post Office spokesperson told LADbible: “We share fully the aims of the public inquiry to get to the truth of what went wrong in the past and establish accountability . . . It would be inappropriate for the Post Office to comment on any police investigation.”
Anish Vij