Post Office inquiry chair warns of ‘criminal sanction’ over disclosure failures

Failure to provide evidence regarding the wrongful convictions of Post Office workers for theft, fraud, and false accounting may result in imprisonment, according to the chairman of the inquiry into the scandal.

Between 2000 and 2014, more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses (SPMs) were wrongly prosecuted based on information from the Horizon computer system, which was installed and maintained by Fujitsu.

In December 2019, a High Court judge concluded that the system had numerous "bugs, errors, and defects" and that there was a "material risk" that discrepancies in Post Office branch accounts were actually caused by the system.

As a result, many SPMs have had their criminal convictions overturned for theft, fraud, and false accounting.

Sir Wyn Williams, the chair of the inquiry, criticised the Post Office for its "grossly unsatisfactory" and "significant" failures to disclose important documents.

He recently announced that all future requests for evidence will be made under Section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005, which carries the threat of criminal sanctions, including a potential sentence of up to 51 weeks' imprisonment.

Sir Wyn noted that during oral submissions on behalf of SPMs, it was evident that many believe the Post Office's failure to disclose crucial information about the Horizon system was deliberate.

He said: "It does not surprise me that this is the attitude of many former sub-postmasters. After all, a failure to disclose crucial information about Horizon was a central finding leading to the quashing of criminal convictions in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and the Crown Court."

The inquiry will hold regular discrete hearings to address the handover of evidence for the remainder of the