Former postmasters cleared after Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 เม.ย. 2021
- They protested their innocence. But the computer said no. And the Post Office pursued them until they lost homes, livelihoods and in some cases, their liberty. Today the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of 39 former sub-postmasters, the largest miscarriage of justice in British history.
When the new Horizon computer system started throwing out numbers that indicated a shortfall in local post office accounts, the Post Office went after the sub-postmasters rather than the expensive but faulty software. The court declared the prosecutions "an affront to the conscience of the court" and Post Office management apologised for the "deep pain" caused. But will anyone be held to account?
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1. Public inquiry needed
2. Public apology from Royal mail to all of the individuals and families
3. Compensation for all of those falsely charged
4. Charges needed with all those involved at Royal mail in directing these allegations against their own employees
Yes charges should include misconduct in a public office, perjury and perverting the course of justice. Law Society investigation into Post Office lawyers. Others at the Post Office should be sacked. This will be a starter.
5. Prison and dispossession for those responsible. (It's not going to happen though - prison's just for the little-people.)
Absolutely!
I thought it was the Post Office, not the Royal mail.
@@nco1970 you are correct, thank you
People in the PO knew about problems - and yet this got to court and resulted in convictions.
So - surely - these people should be charged?
You'd think so wouldn't you...
Must be the fault of the EU...
Yes, misconduct in a public office, perverting the course of justice and perjury for starters. Also think that Post Office lawyers should be referred to the Law Society for potential misconduct. Disappointed that the two politicians seemed to duck this point.
Thank you private eye for your years of work on this.
The supplier of the bad software should be banned from ever having government contracts in the future.
And post office itself. Why are checks so difficult
And this must include the company directors being disbarred on the minimum, otherwise the same people can close a company and open a new open and carry on.
@@monisara totally agreed 👍
Jesus h christ wth, the post office knew it was not the fault of these people but allowed them to be criminalised when they were totally innocent and ruined their lives. I hope they take the post office for every single penny they can get. The post office chairman who was in that job at the time of this travesty should be in a court and jailed for corporate malfeasance
The powers to be in the post office that allowed this miscarriage of justice must be made to pay no escape they now need to face jail time.
But they won't. Such scam starts at Westminster and everyone whos name is used to steal from subpostmasters will be protected.
@@MartinTeerly I have my doubts on your statement. Too many "victims" to sweep under the carpet.
I'm in tears.😭 So much oppression in the name of justice exists around the world...and at home. What a miscarriage of justice this was.
There must be so many in prison for crimes they haven't commited, because they didn't have adequate legal representation or they remain behind bars until they accept the conviction....
.. how medieval !!!😡😡😠😤
Wtf are you Talking about?
@@thedude9014.clown
Somehow I feel there's massive compensation to be paid to the victims.
We knew they were innocent and yet its taken years to clear them
I assume they're going to receive millions in compensation? It's the absolute least they deserve.
Free stamps
@Craig D At least the Post Office will pay
The bully boys in the Post Office investigation branch need to find out how it feels to have their collars felt.
The postmasters should be compensated and the people who knowingly ignored the problems criminally prosecuted, both in the Post Office and in the company that supplied the software.
I have nearly finished reading "The Great Post Office Scandal" written by Nick Wallis which I highly recommend. I had never realised what a HUGE scandal this was.
What beggars belief is that notwithstanding the settlement those affected have still not received FULL compensation and it would seem nobody in the Post Office has been held accountable.
Fujitsu has been rewarded with a big government contract using Horizon software - related to the pandemic. That gives the lie to Johnson's words today. Oh and Paula Vennells (ex Post Office head) was given a Cabinet Office job until the backlash forced her to resign.
Sickening. Justice? Not for all.
Time after time we see this type of wickedness in places of power. I’m thankful that the people refused to be silenced.
@@charlesworth5603 👈mulder and Scully?
The woman who wouldn't give evidence when there was inquiry should be brought to justice an outrageous cover up investigate now Paula venells
I totally agree, it’s horrifying that those who brought these prosecutions have been allowed to side step any repercussions for their actions. Justice will only be served when those responsible are held to account.
Agreed
What an absolute disgrace the post office is how didn't they realise how big the problem was. A couple of people stealing fair enough but 50 odd all saying the same thing they should of listened.
Criminals did this and will never be held to account.
Some of these postmasters had given faithful service for donkey's years. Seriously, did nobody smell the rat when 39 post offices all suddenly started committing identical fraud, just after new computers/software was installed ??
_Private Eye_ did - and reported on it - yet these prosecutions went ahead.
My heart breaks for these people. They were helpless when this dangerous Horizon system was forced into their Post Offices. All those responsible for this must be fully, officially held accountable. It's a very hard life running a franchised Post Office. What they endured is terrifying and barbaric. Sadly their nightmare went on for many years. Years they can't get back. I admire and respect them all and their families.
u talk toòooo much
@@BlokeBritish u talk tough, snowflake 🖕
I find it atrocious that a minister can state that she couldn’t focus on an issue that *landed innocent people in jail* because the board didn’t meet often enough... damn, convene as many board meeting as you need! These people ended up in jail!
u got a point but shes got hers too
Those poor people.
It's not just these cases that are a miscarriage of justice it's also about the cases abandoned or not properly investigated it's about those who fail us repatedly and get away with it.
MY GOD, I’M SO LUCKY !!
I retired in August 1999 after 40 years as Sub Postmaster with commendations, framed certificate and DIY tools.
Aged 62, I retired 3 years early due to illness.
I dread to imagine what I would have become if, in my final years, had I stayed till I was 65, and had been sent to jail whilst unwell. I might have joined the other 33 who died before justice prevailed and died in jail.
This is, indeed, a scandal and another scandal will occur if the perpetrators of the injustice and cover up are not brought to trial.
These people did not HAVE their lives ruined, implying things are back to normal, they ARE ruined- period
This all reminds me of early employment in passenger aircraft flight testing.
The aircraft don’t come off the designers drawing board, get built and go into service. A prototype is built and tested to destruction by places like Farnborough.
Would you fly in an unapproved aircraft ?
The Comet jet wasn’t tested properly and they broke up and fell out of the sky !
That’s exactly how I see Horizon, it wasn’t tested to breaking point.
Bugs and glitches that are in all software were not scrubbed out BEFORE going into service ! Were any updates made?
Everyone constantly gets updates on their smartphones, technology that barely existed when Horizon was rolled out ! Did the programmers think themselves so clever as to have got it right first time??
One more word -- DISGRACEFUL !!
Poor people so glad they have been exonerated, shame on the idiots at the post office who bullied, lied and ruined their lives. I hope they have been investigated and sacked .
This is incredible. Somebody in the Post Office management should be prosecuted. There has to be accountability.
The usual Phrase, Trotted out, " WE NEED TO LEARN FROM THIS ", !!!!!!!!!!.But NO ONE, will be held to account. EVERYTIME' !!!!!!
Govt minister has said the pioneering subs who took the first court case will not receive part of the current compensation package as they 'received a full & final settlement'. It's well known that most of that money went on legal fees.
The government should stay out of the courts business as the courts are independent bodies, and the pioneering subs should be compensated for this absolutely criminal travesty. Also the software company should never get a government contract again and its directors disbarred from holding office in future companies and at the least be in court on corporate malfeasance charges
Surely the first thing the Post Office has to do NOW is to reimburse all the postmasters or their descendents with the money they stole with appropriate interest payments. After all it is still the postmasters' personal money.
The news media has spent years investigating this scandal, in the face of blatant misinformation by the Post Office. Endless newspaper and magazine articles, news broadcasts, documentaries, podcasts and even a book have been published.
Sadly none of this reporting has ever created much impact with the general public - until last week, when the medium of TV drama brought the issue to a mass audience. Suddenly the politicians who chose to ignore it for so long are being forced to react to the outcry.
Let's hope they follow through and justice may be served.
Why has our government not demanded this affair be settled by a specific date. Why was Horizon not built with a built in logging system where every bit of data is traced. It could have been. The horizon system should have been flashing warnings to the Post Masters every day that things were wrong. They then could have pulled the plug. What role did the government play in all of this. I have my opinion and my vote at the next election will reflect that!!
Disgusting bullies they have blood on their hands.
My local post office was affected. This was so sick.
Who was the sub-postmaster at your local post office ?
I can't believe they put a new system in and suddenly 700 workers were stealing? And nobody flagged it up. And when it was flagged up. It was brushed under the carpet. They need a good pay out for this shocker.
It was flagged up internally - and deliberately ignored.
Yeah. Some people took actions that were deliberate.
Absolute disgrace.
Every single person affected should be compensated accordingly.
Criminal.
Paula Vennells should be stripped of her CBE and brought before the law and if found guilty, she should be jailed. Such an instance of governance failure in the PO senior management team should be punished to encourage future accountability. As CEO, Paula Vennells would have been updated or had access to information about the accuracy issues with the Horizon system. Paula Vennells deliberately avoided this duty of care to find out because this would have been at odds with the objective of making the PO profitable. The Horizon system faults and vulnerabilities were reported in the computer press for 7-8 years before the appeal. I suspect a corporate culture issue was at play in the PO senior management where they suspected significant levels of historic fraud amongst the sub-post masters but hadn't been able to prove it. The Horizon system made this fraud trackable proving the levels of fraud that PO senior management believed to exist. The large number of fraud cases was seen as the Horizon system justifying its business case. This belief that the system was exposing true fraud levels blinded PO senior management to what should have been red flags of doubt concerning the system accuracy and reliability. The PO senior management chose to ignore this contrary evidence because it was inconvenient and contrary to what they hoped to be true. As the PO fraud team strong armed many sub-postmasters into pleading guilty in exchange for reduced sentences, this provided the paper justification for the Horizon system and a governance 'buy out' for the PO senior management team. Yet another example of appalling British state management demonstrating poor levels of capability, judgement and competence. Voltaire would have us punish the individual where such instances occur to encourage others to do better.
I'm so sad for these people so much pain and suffering my prays go out to you
I cannot find the appropriate words to describe how disgusting this this situation is.
MP’s should be put into prison by mistake and see how it feels.
This had nothing to do with MPs.
I think you're missing some quote marks in that title. There are a few Irish that would disagree with that title...
I thought exactly the same. Then realised they mean the number of innocent people is a lot in this case
@@oscar38 Seems that way. Awful choice of title all the same.
@@rowangallagher I'm Irish. I agree that the title is a bit hyperbolic - but it is one of the largest miscarriages of justice against British citizens for a very long time purely down to the numbers who received formal charges and wrongful convictions.
The statement I heard was "most widespread ..." not "biggest" but anyway, understand where you are coming from @Rowan.
@@EricIrl yep that's an accurate summary. Just a pity a journalist isn't on their YT team as they wouldn't gave allowed such a title.
they should get compensation swiftly...... 2 years later they are still waiting. 5 years into the police inquiry and they have interviewed 2 people. Meanwhile the public inquiry led by a judge continues to be fucked around by the post office including dumping thousands of pages of new evidence before anyone from the post office is due to appear in front of the inquiry.
I hope they receive millions from the post office such a disgraceful organisation
no one will prosecuted for this, the establishment will see to that
God bless them. NOW GET THEM COMPENSATED.
The sheer scale should of red flagged it wasent the individuals
It's a disgrace
This should never have even gone to court, but someone with a vested interest either in the profits, or the hiding of the problems on Horizon programs, that's done this to these innocent people. I've always told my staff at work its not the electronics you're using, its the software that runs them that's the problem. But they just laugh at me, call me an old fart, and continue to type in there whole life into these gadgets. I think I will show them this vid!
Its great when it goes right, its when it goes wrong that is unbelievably destructive.
I'm still not clear as to the role of the systems bug which caused the alleged false accounting and would have liked more in-depth reporting on this issue.
Jesus Christ. Poor people
Just a bit racist.
What a disgraceful despicable situation, I hope the pregnant lady and man in prison sued for millions and they all were compensated enormously not that any recompense would be enough.
Shame on the post office bosses who should end up in court.
Disgusting attitude by the Post Office. Computer billing/accounting software glitches are nothing new, but this was of no concern to the arrogant PO - or Fujitsu. The victims deserve adequate compensation and criminal procedings against individuals in the PO and Fujitsu.
The PO have to be held accountable. When failures were reported, they should have checked the Horizon system. That many sub-postmasters affected & should have believed.
They did.They knew it had issues. They choose to downplay them. That was a management decision.
Why are the pensions of state employees never at risk when they make wrongful decisions at the expense of the public? Even if they lose their jobs, or retire before they are sacked, they still walk away with their pensions.
And just when do these people get their money back???????????????????????????????????????????????
What about the ones who have died?
It sounds as though the really guilty party is Fujitsu, although the enquiry might reveal that the PO Board put Fujitsu under undue pressure to meet an untealistic price while at the same time moving the goalposts. If my Excel files tell me that one of my employees is on the fiddle I won’t waste any time considering that the problem could be Microsoft selling me bad software. Fujitsu need to be held accountable as well as the Post Office Board, MASSIVE fines need to be imposed and the wrongfully accused subpostmasters need to be given MASSIVE compensation.
However, if the computer press is reporting problems with Horizon system reliability and accuracy for 7-8 years before the appeal, then as CEO you might want to ask questions. If the PO senior management suppress and cancel independent Horizon system audits they have commissioned when the draft reports outline serious concerns with accuracy and reliability, then you have to wonder.
Perhaps an argument for taking the Postoffice/Royal Mail back into public ownership again.
A shocking miscarriage of justice. Just goes to show you that software made by people and used by people is prone to error as much as people are. They shouldn't be treated as absolute truth, which is what has led to this terrible situation.
Sammy u r soo wrong
@@BlokeBritish care to explain?
@@jibjub2121 haha hey Sammy i ws kidding
Poor Seema. What an outrageous miscarriage of justice!
Where’s the monetary compensation for these poor people. Unbelievable and disgusting? Justice long time coming.🙏🙏🙏
The Post Office are going to get a real financial spanking for this (and the clowns who designed the software) Bend Over!!
good report. Glad you put the politicians on the spot. Yes it does need to be a Statutory Inquiry or it will not find those to blame
Justice was not served 20 years is too long. Nothing can compensate for the trauma. All in charge should be charged and arrested. Those in charge should have gotten the computer system properly checked and when they still getting complaints get an external company to access the computer system. It is evil that a computer fault destroyed so many lives and no one is held accountable.
This is injustice but Slavery is the worst injustice on earth.
You are wrong, justice was indeed served 20 years ago. It was the diligent Auditors who discovered the fraud when they examined the books. Wrong figures were put into the computer system from password protected computer terminals. In fact Some sub-postmaster admitted to stealing and were duly sentenced.
My guy in the thumbnail is pouring one for the dead homies
An the guilty relaxes on the yacht.
Each and everyone involved should be jailed like they did to other and the lives lost in this absolutely shocking, stop the blaming and take accountability for what you put everyone through
Words I thought I'd never say, "Nice one Cummings". lol
wats the nice one tats coming ? be clear pls
If there are such cases how to alert the world?Let me know please.
There snobs at Royal mail, they stand there and let working people do all there donkey work, and they go on strike with there high pay and pensions and many sit in break room for hours
Disgusting utterly disgusting I hope they sue for billions.
Sounds to me like a computer system the Met Police would invest in!!!!
These people need to be payed the money they payed back to the post office and then some. This should never have happened, the post office should be broken up after this and given to someone who knows what they are doing.
All involved should in the denial should now face prosecution, no escape.
And what happened to all the £££ the PO screwed from these innocent sub posters. Who had it, WHO ¿?
Fujitzu has a major part to play in this why are they not being investigated
Were is their compensation money?
3.06 saying the Post Office is publicity owned 🧐
No!
I find it somewhat hypocritical that the interviewer asked the politician if she had done enough to help these people in their plight. The only media overage of this fiasco was via the Private Eye magazine who, repeatedly, had coverage. The main media ignored it until they were found innocent
This is absolutely dreadful. Its probably not the largest misscarage of Justice, ehen I think of people held for long tines for terrorist attacks they had nothing to do with. Nobody pays for these misscarage of justice and so they will continue.
They should be in prison
Big compo coming their way 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻
The boss of the post office company should go to jail.
Sorrys not good enough for what these people have endured bcos of a cockup
Highly disturbing the woman who wanted to kill herself because it's a disgrace to the family to go to prison in her tradition. What other women kill themselves in her tradition for similar and other reasons?
thanks God I leaving this country on this year
It was 3 years not 2 years
Pooter said no
Its funny how 2 people can come from the same country of India and the Hindus have overwhelmingly done good by the UK, followed its laws, respected our customs, and integrated and been model citizens, then then someone who follows that religion that originated in Saudi Arabia are the exact opposite.
'Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice'. Hardly!
I think they mean in terms of numbers at about 700 people
Banned.Video
Sha'naynay Dela Quintifa has a new user image is a screenshot of my channel.
That's a certain sign you really annoyed some Russian state employee! #ShitpostQuean
Obviously there was NO management of the system's integrity and auditing that was correctly or properly carried out by the computer technicians. The system was flawed and HAD to be known to be flawed; absolutey. This was a crime agianst those innocent people. There was also a lacking in defence, that no one investigated so many similar allegded crimes. This must be investigated further and charges brought.
Do you lot forget you're literally the reproduction of slave owner's. That's a bigger miscarriage of justice than this 🙄😂😂
"Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice"? That's a bit of a stretch. It's fucking awful that's for sure but it's not the worst.
Not vaccine passports
^^FSB. #ShitpostQuean