Former subpostmasters demand judge-led inquiry into PO scandal

Former subpostmasters are demanding a judge-led inquiry into a scandal involving the Post Office IT system.

Last year, the Post Office paid a £57.75 million settlement after more than 550 claimants brought group legal action over its Horizon computer system.

The system was found to contain software defects which caused shortfalls in the subpostmasters’ branch accounts over a number of years.

It led to hundreds of subpostmasters being accused of false accounting and theft, resulting in some being made bankrupt, while others were prosecuted and jailed.

Yesterday the government’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee (BEIS) heard evidence from affected subpostmasters as part of its own inquiry.

Alan Bates, founder of the

Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, said that of the £57.75m settlement agreed at the High Court in December, just £11.5m would be available for the claimants.

Mr Bates, a former subpostmaster, said: “When you start to talk about dividing £11.5m between 550 people you can see we are not getting very far to recover the cost.”

Mr Bates said more subpostmasters had been affected by the system, which was introduced between 1999 and 2000, but were yet to come forward due to “concerns” about how the Post Office would react.

Communication Workers Union assistant secretary Andy Furey told the committee there was a “perverse irony” that 550 people were “potentially sacked” while “nobody has been held accountable” from the Post Office”.