Architect of postal scandal demands immunity
IT expert who created faulty software has twice had testimony to inquiry delayed
THE architect of the faulty Horizon IT system who gave evidence that was used to convict subpostmasters has demanded immunity before agreeing to appear at the public inquiry.
Gareth Jenkins, who is understood to have been instrumental in developing the software as a senior computer engineer at Fujitsu, is under police investigation over his role in the Post Office scandal. His court testimony stating that the Fujitsu IT system worked correctly was central to convictions and was repeatedly used by Post Office lawyers.
Tracked down by The Daily Telegraph to his home in Berkshire, Mr Jenkins, 69, said when asked if he was sorry for what had happened: “I don’t want to talk. I don’t have anything to say to you.”
Mr Jenkins has twice sought a guarantee that any testimony he gives to the inquiry would not be used against him in any possible prosecution. His testimony has also been delayed twice.
Yesterday, Paula Vennells, the former Post Office chief executive who presided over the scandal, said she was handing back her CBE and that she was “truly sorry for the devastation” wrought on subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted and convicted. It also emerged she had once been considered for the role of Bishop of London.
Mrs Vennells said in a statement: “I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence. I am, however, aware of the calls from subpostmasters and others to return my CBE. I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.” Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader who was the Post Office minister at the time, is also under pressure to return his knighthood.
The Telegraph can disclose that at least 27 prosecutions were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service – as opposed to the Post Office – raising serious questions about whether Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, oversaw a number of wrongful convictions during his five-year tenure as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
Mr Jenkins had been due to give evidence to the public inquiry twice. But each time it was postponed, once as recently as November when the Post Office disclosed 3,045 documents on the evening before he was due to give evidence. Sources have speculated that the release of the documents was timed to prevent Mr Jenkins giving evidence.
Mr Jenkins has twice requested that Sir Wyn Williams, the inquiry chairman, asks the Attorney General to grant him immunity over any comments he makes giving evidence to the inquiry. He believes such testimony should not be used against him in any possible future criminal proceedings. Both times, Sir Wyn has refused.
The Met Police confirmed last week it was investigating “matters concerning Fujitsu Horizon and the Post Office… into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice”.
The Met also announced it was investigating “potential fraud offences” as a result of the wrongful prosecutions of subpostmasters. That includes an allegation the Post Office boosted its profits by recovering money from subpostmasters falsely dragged through the criminal or civil courts.
The Telegraph understands that Mr Jenkins, who was chief Horizon architect at Fujitsu, told investigators as early as 2012 that the IT system could be accessed remotely by Fujitsu. But it would take until 2019 for the Post Office to admit that the systems could be accessed remotely, blowing a hole in the key prosecution argument that the system could not be tampered with.
JULY 6 2023 was the day subpostmasters had waited for. Gareth Jenkins, the former Fujitsu employee and chief architect of the Horizon IT system, was due to appear in front of the public inquiry for the first time.
Some convictions had been overturned, compensation schemes were up and running and all that was left was the hunt for justice. To find out what – and who – bankrupted and convicted innocent people.
But while victims were steadying their minds the night before, the Post Office, at 10.32pm on July 5, revealed that there were almost 5,000 documents that had just come to light and apologised to the inquiry for the late disclosure. Such was the deluge of paperwork just 11 hours before he was due to be sworn in, Mr Jenkins’ appearance was delayed for several months.
The man whose expert testimony had led to a number of convictions would not yet face questions in public.
It was a temporary reprieve for Mr Jenkins, but not his last. His inquiry appearance was rescheduled for November, but the Post Office, again, announced days beforehand it had found more than 3,000 new documents that necessitated another delay.
Sir Wyn Williams, the inquiry chairman, said it was, “a source of frustration”, compounded by the fact that in his witness statement Mr Jenkins only deigned to answer “a small number” of the 200 questions he was asked.
Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry said the key issues were also avoided and he failed to address his knowledge of, and involvement in the investigation of a series of bugs, errors and defects in the Horizon system.
More than 30 questions were unanswered on this topic.
Mr Jenkins is considered a central figure in the scandal as it was his testimony that Horizon was working correctly which helped secure convictions and was repeatedly used by Post Office lawyers.
He is also understood to have been instrumental in developing the faulty computer software in his role as a Fujitsu engineer where he was the chief architect of Horizon.
The computer engineer lives a ten minute drive from the Fujitsu headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire. He did not feature in the recent ITV programme telling the story of wrongly convicted postmasters, but is very much central to the ongoing drama.
Alongside his two 11th hour postponements he has twice asked that Sir Wyn request that the Attorney General grant him immunity from his comments being used against him in a court of law for any future criminal proceedings.
Both times, Sir Wyn declined to pass on the request. Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry, pointed out that he is investigating allegations that the Post Office used the late disclosure as a tactic against the postmasters for more than a decade.
But Mr Jenkins has succeeded in delaying his fate for at least a year, as he will now not face the inquiry again until spring at the earliest.
He now passes his time as a treasurer for a charity, Home Start Bracknell Forest, and is a trustee at Great Hollands Free Church. He has made no comment in response to his role in the inquiry, and declined to talk to The Daily Telegraph.
But his tongue was looser, when he was working for the Japanese tech giant. In 2005, two years after Alan Bates closed his Post Office, Mr Jenkins provided an expert witness statement for the first time during the prosecution of Hughie Thomas.
Mr Thomas, from Anglesey, North Wales. had been a postman since 1965 and was investigated at the age of 59.
He spent nine months in prison after pleading guilty to false accounting. Mr Jenkins’ evidence contributed to his condemnation but he was exonerated in 2021 during the landmark Court of Appeal case.
He was forced to give up his second job as a counsellor and was subsequently declared bankrupt. He had worked for the Post Office for 42 years, first as a postman and then, from 1981, as a postmaster.
But Mr Jenkins’ witness statement lived on far beyond 2005.
His claims were reused by the Post Office lawyers with a “one size fits all” approach, according to criminal prosecution lawyer Duncan Atkinson KC who has produced an expert witness report for the inquiry.
But Mr Atkinson also concludes that Mr Jenkins was at the mercy of his Post Office overlords who, when liaising with him, failed to properly inform him of his duties.
Mr Jenkins did not know what being an expert witness entailed, and the Post Office lawyers are also accused of not telling him about the specifics of the cases he was consulted on.
Mr Jenkins once gave live evidence in court, the one and only such time, in the case of Seema Misra who was pregnant when found guilty.
But for several years his template statement was being used against postmasters. The Atkinson report says the lawyers for the Post Office asked him to delete, change and re-word statements, often to “harden up” the claims. Mr Jenkins repeatedly told various courts in written statements: “In summary I would conclude by saying that I fully believe that Horizon will accurately record all data that is submitted to it and correctly account for it.”
However The Telegraph understands that Mr Jenkins told forensic accountants as early as 2012 that the IT system designed for the Post Office could be accessed remotely by Fujitsu despite one of the key prosecution arguments being that the system could not be tampered with and was failsafe.
Now, Mr Jenkins is under police investigation for alleged perjury after concerns were raised that he had not told the truth in court. The legacy of Jenkins is a long list of statements which allowed the Post Office to go after postmasters and control the perception of Horizon seen by the courts.
Questions remain unanswered about his involvement and to what level he was influenced and controlled by the Post Office and their team of lawyers.
Warwick Tatford, who prosecuted Mrs Misra, said he went to great lengths to ensure Mr Jenkins knew what was involved with being an expert witness.
But victims of the scandal are now hoping that Mr Jenkins will finally be forced to answer questions in the open.
‘Gareth Jenkins’ claims were used by the Post Office lawyers as a one size fits all approach’