Coppers probe fraud in Post Office cases

The Met Police say they are investigating possible fraud offences linked to fraud prosecutions against hundreds of Post Office staff.

They are checking the money that the Post Office clawed back from the sub-post managers through civil actions.

For those who came in late, hundreds of sub-posties were wrongly convicted of nicking cash from their branches after a dodgy Horizon IT system supplied by Japanese tech giant Fujitsu made them look guilty. To make matters worse, the Royal Mail knew its system was spitting out false data and covered it up.

Bosses who ignored the problems with the software made the workers pay back the shortfalls. Some ended up in jail or out of pocket, while others lost their jobs and homes.

A telly drama about one brave manager who fought to clear his name has exposed the shocking case of injustice.

The cops say they have already been probing perjury and justice perversion claims related to the Post Office’s investigations and prosecutions.

Two people have been quizzed, but no one has been nicked since the probe started in January 2020.

A public inquiry has called the scandal “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.

The Post Office started using the software in the late ’90s, but it had glitches that made it look like money needed to be added to the accounts.

In December 2019, a High Court judge said the system had “bugs, errors and defects”.

Eighty-six posties have had their convictions quashed, and £21 million ($26 million) has been compensated.

The UK government said in September that every sub-post office worker convicted would get a payout of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

According to British media, the four-part TV series “Mr Bates vs the Post Office, ” on ITV, has led to 50 more possible victims contacting lawyers.