Could bombshell secret Post Office recordings finally put bosses in dock?
PRESSURE was mounting on the Post Office to face criminal action last night after secret recordings proved its bosses covered up the Horizon IT scandal. They revealed that the company and Fujitsu knew their faulty computer system could alter sub- postmasters’ accounts more than ten years ago, despite denying this for years.
More than 900 sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting between 1999 to 2015 following faults in the Horizon system.
and national outrage ensued after the scandal was depicted in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, based on campaigner alan Bates’s bid for justice.
The recordings were made in 2013 when the Post Office hired forensic firm Second Sight to conduct an independent investigation.
The first involved a call with IT specialist Simon Baker, in which it is admitted there is a possibility that sub-postmasters’ accounts could be altered without their knowledge.
Mr Baker said: ‘If somebody in Bracknell had a brainstorm and wanted to do something, they could just do it.’ Fujitsu’s head office is based in Bracknell, west London.
In another jaw-dropping moment, Mr Baker describes how he had informed Post Office executives alwen Lyons and Susan Crichton that Fujitsu had admitted they could access sub- postmasters’ accounts secretly.
In previous revelations, it is understood that chief Horizon architect gareth Jenkins told investigators as early as 2012 that the IT system could be accessed remotely by Fujitsu at its HQ. However, the Post Office did not admit this until 2019.
In the second recording, the Second Sight accountants present their evidence to Post Office company secretary Ms Lyons and chief lawyer Ms Crichton – one day before then CeO Paula Vennells met with victims campaigner Lord arbuthnot.
The accountants can be heard strongly recommending that Ms Vennells is briefed on the failings of the system. They were later fired.
Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the business and trade committee, said he felt ‘pure rage’ as he responded to what he says is the ‘first evidence from 2013 that people knew there was a problem’.
He said: ‘Not only did they mislead Parliament, they were sending people to prison as late as 2015. So two years after these recordings had been made.
‘This is potentially perjury, this is contempt of Parliament, it’s a miscarriage of justice. I mean, there’s a whole host of sins here.
‘It does now beg the question as to whether the police have now got sufficient evidence to act.’
Lord arbuthnot broke down in tears when shown the evidence. He said: ‘I’ve been doing this for 14, 15 years now and to think that a British institution could behave like this, owned by us, is just terrible.’
Fujitsu, the Post Office and Mr Jenkins declined to comment. The public inquiry into the Horizon scandal resumes next month.
‘A whole host of sins here’