Public inquiry begins into Post Office scandal that saw 700 managers face criminal convictions
Former Post Office sub-postmasters and mistresses started giving evidence as part of a public inquiry on the Horizon scandal today.
It comes after more than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions between 2000 and 2014 when faulty accounting software called Horizon made it look as if money was missing.
The system, developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, was used for tasks such as transactions, accounting and stocktaking.
Some went to prison following convictions for false accounting and theft following the system’s shortcomings, and many were ruined financially, with reputations damaged.
According to the BBC, some sub-postmasters attempted to plug the gap with their own money, even remortgaging their homes, in an attempt to correct an error.
Campaigners have been fighting for years to have their cases reconsidered.
Sir Wyn Williams, the retired High Court judge who is leading the inquiry, said he sought to understand “the scale and nature of the harm” done.
“These hearings would not be taking place at all were it not for the witnesses who have agreed to give up their valuable time to publicly relive what must be very distressing memories and events”, Sir Wyn said.
Top lawyer Jason Beer QC said former sub-postmasters and mistresses’ stories should be at the heart of the inquiry.
The inquiry is set to run for the rest of the year, with a total of 72 former sub-postmasters having had their names cleared.