Post Office under criminal investigation for wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters

THE Post Office is under criminal investigation for the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters.

Metropolitan Police detectives are looking at whether fraud offences were committed in the handling of the Horizon IT scandal.

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The Post Office is under criminal investigation for the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters[/caption]

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Toby Jones as Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs the Post Office[/caption]

It says it is focusing on money clawed back as a result of prosecutions and civil action.

However, it is unclear whether the probe relates to individual staff or the Post Office as a corporate entity.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing, false accounting and fraud by the Post Office when it was their own failing computer system causing accounting discrepancies.

Many were jailed and at least four took their own lives.

Their fight for justice features in this week’s ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Hampshire postmistress Jo Hamilton, 66, who led a Court of Appeal fight in 2021, said she hoped there would be criminal prosecutions.

She added: “They’ve made people’s lives a misery and they’ve committed crimes.

“It’s not just a computer problem, this is absolute corruption at its worst.”