Scotland’s prime regulation officer has claimed the Crown Office was “repeatedly misled” by the Post Office over prosecutions linked to the Horizon system.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC appeared earlier than MSPs at Holyrood on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Bain had been referred to as to make clear when the Crown Office knew in regards to the flawed system, which can have resulted in as much as 100 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses north of the border being wrongly convicted of embezzling cash.
Prosecutions have been dealt with by the Crown Office in Scotland, not the Post Office.
In an announcement, Ms Bain mentioned: “I’m very deeply troubled by what has occurred, and I stay acutely involved that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service was repeatedly misled by the Post Office.
“Assurances, which were just not true, were repeatedly given.
“To these wrongfully convicted, I perceive your anger and I apologise for the best way that you’ve got been failed by trusted establishments and the felony justice system. And I stand beside you in your pursuit of justice.
“I want to assure this chamber, those wrongly convicted, and the people of Scotland that I will do all I can to prevent such an affront to our justice system from ever happening again and to right the wrongs which have occurred.”
Read extra:
What is the Post Office scandal?
Post Office boss admits cash from victims might have gone into government pay
Sub-postmaster who tried to take personal life nonetheless battling to clear title
The Crown Office beforehand confirmed it first came upon about points with the system in May 2013.
In August that 12 months, steering was issued to prosecutors urging them to make sure circumstances weren’t overly reliant on Horizon proof.
The lord advocate claimed between 2000 and 2013, there was no file of prosecutors having been made conscious of points with the Horizon system.
When issues have been mentioned in September 2013, Ms Bain mentioned Post Office officers “repeated their assurances to Scottish prosecutors”.
After the Post Office did not ship knowledgeable proof and an extra report back to assist the integrity of Horizon within the months that adopted, the Crown Office took the choice to take no additional prosecutorial motion in a number of newly reported circumstances.
During one other assembly in October 2015, Post Office officers as soon as once more mentioned they “remained confident” in Horizon.
However, prosecutions have been thereafter successfully dropped after the Post Office confirmed it was unable to offer a ultimate knowledgeable report or proof supporting the integrity of Horizon.
Ms Bain mentioned: “During this period, the Post Office did not disclose to Scottish prosecutors the true extent of the Horizon problems as they are now known to be.
“Scottish prosecutors obtained assurances that the system was strong.
“These were assurances that prosecutors, without the benefit of hindsight, were entitled to take at face value.
“They wouldn’t have identified, nor certainly suspected, that the Post Office might not have been revealing the true extent of the Horizon issues.
“Because of the failures by the Post Office, we know that a number of people in Scotland may have suffered a miscarriage of justice.”
The lord advocate claimed that the Post Office “failed in its duty of revelation” when reporting circumstances to the Crown Office.
Ms Bain added that when it turned clear that Post Office explanations “could no longer be relied upon”, prosecutors modified insurance policies, dropped circumstances and subsequently supported the work of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), the Court of Appeal in Scotland, and the UK public inquiry.
She mentioned that in September 2020, the SCCRC wrote to 73 people who might have been convicted in Scotland on the idea of “unreliable evidence” from the Horizon system.
To date, 16 folks have come ahead to have their circumstances reviewed. Ms Bain mentioned seven referrals have been made to the excessive courtroom, 4 of which have resulted in convictions being overturned.
In addition, she mentioned the Crown Office had recognized “potentially affected cases” with a view to be sure that “no possible miscarriage of justice is missed”.
As a results of this, 54 circumstances are being thought-about by prosecutors as potential Horizon circumstances, with Ms Bain including that almost all of those folks had already been written to by the SCCRC.
The lord advocate mentioned: “It will be noted that, of those written to, only a small portion of people have come forward to identify themselves as possibly affected.
“This could also be indicative of the truth that not each case during which Horizon proof is current will signify a miscarriage of justice.”
Ms Bain apologised to all these affected and pledged transparency going ahead, topic to restrictions in regard to ongoing appeals and the general public inquiry.
The Post Office has been contacted for remark.
Source: information.sky.com”