Lord Advocate to make statement to MSPs as Crown Office faces questions over Horizon Post Office scandal

The Crown Office was first made aware of problems with the Horizon software in May 2013

Scotland’s top prosecutor will make a statement to MSPs after being urged to answer questions on the Horizon scandal.

Up to 100 people were convicted due to the faulty Post Office system Horizon in Scotland, while almost 1,000 were caught up in the scandal across the UK.

North of the border, prosecutions were dealt with by the independent Crown Office, as opposed to Post Office-led prosecutions elsewhere.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain is facing calls to face MSPs

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has agreed to address the Scottish Parliament “at the earliest possibly opportunity” as it was revealed the chief executives of Post Office and Fujitsu are set to be questioned by MPs over the Horizon scandal next week.

Westminster’s business and trade committee will meet on Tuesday to examine what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in British history.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office said on Wednesday it had been made aware of problems with the Horizon software in May 2013.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the process of clearing innocent people’s names must be “accelerated”, and called for the Lord Advocate to face parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, he said a prosecutor cited “issues with Horizon as reasons for not proceeding with a case” on January 29, four months before the Crown Office says it was made aware by the Post Office of issues.

Mr Ross said: “There was a sudden spike in cases involving people who were some of the most trusted in their communities, but the Crown Office proceeded anyway. The Horizon Post Office scandal has devastated lives.

“It is the most appalling miscarriage of justice. Good people were criminalised because of an IT failure they had nothing to do with and a cover up that lasted for years – it’s right that no stone is left unturned in seeking answers.

“The Crown Office in Scotland must be transparent – prosecutors were aware of issues with the flawed Horizon system more than ten years ago, so First Minister, we don’t need meetings or briefings from the Lord Advocate, we need her here in Parliament to answer questions about this scandal.”

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “The Lord Advocate is willing to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Horizon IT prosecutions. She hopes to come to an agreement with Parliamentary authorities about the timing of this at the earliest possible opportunity.”

The spokesman said the COPFS had raised a “discrepancy” about the January 2013 date with the ongoing public inquiry into the Horizon scandal. “Our own records show the case in question was not reported to us until May 2013 and finally resolved in August 2014,” the spokesman added.

First Minister Humza Yousaf told MSPs the Crown Office issued guidance warning against reliance on Horizon for evidence in September 2013 and effectively stopped prosecutions in 2015.

He said: “Scottish prosecutors were told in September 2013 to treat cases reported by the Post Office in regard to the facts and circumstances and evidence which did not rely upon Horizon. Then, of course, no cases were prosecuted from 2015 where the sufficiency of evidence was dependent on the evidence from the Horizon system.”

He said the Crown Office, between 2013 and 2015, had been assured by the Post Office that Horizon had no bearing on live Scottish cases.

Mr Yousaf said sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses had “waited far too long” for justice and compensation in the scandal.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on the Lord Advocate to lay out a timeline of the Crown Office’s understanding, as he accused Post Office employees of acting like “the mob” by “going door to door in Scotland to threaten and extort money from sub-postmasters”.

He said: “Sub-postmasters were pressured into accepting accusations of false accounting and forced to hand over thousands of pounds that day or face imprisonment.”

The First Minister said: “I absolutely empathise in the strongest way possible with the harrowing tales that we’ve heard from sub-postmasters and subpostmistresses right up and down the country.”

He said he agreed the actions of the Post Office should be “interrogated” and that it was for the Crown Office to consider allegations of criminality.

This week, the UK Government said it will look to legislate to exonerate all those impacted, with Mr Yousaf saying in a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday he will work with UK ministers to do the same.

Mr Yousaf said the quickest way may be to extend the Westminster legislation to include Scotland using a legislative consent motion, but he added the Scottish Government would be exploring all options.

It comes as Post Office investigator Stephen Bradshaw gave evidence to the inquiry into the Horizon scandal, admitting it was “probably not” acceptable to offer a plea deal to a sub-postmaster provided they did not blame the Horizon system.

Mr Bradshaw, who was the officer in the case against Katherine McQue, was shown a memo he had been copied into dictating that an indication had been given to the sub-postmistress that a guilty plea to fraud was acceptable “so long as the defendant stipulated … there was nothing wrong with Horizon”.

Chairman of the inquiry Sir Wyn Williams said: “It’s a simple question, is it appropriate for someone representing the Post Office to say ‘we will accept your plea, but only if you don’t blame Horizon?’”

After a short hesitation, Mr Bradshaw said: “Probably not.” The memo stated Ms McQue went on to plead guilty to fraud at Carlisle Crown Court in February 2011 and stated that nothing was wrong with the Horizon system.

In his witness statement to the inquiry, Mr Bradshaw denied claims he and others “behaved like Mafia gangsters” who were looking to collect “bounty with the threats and lies” from sub-postmasters.

The investigator, who has been employed at the Post Office since 1978, also said: “I refute the allegation that I am a liar.”

He told the inquiry he was not “technically minded” and was not equipped to know whether there were bugs or errors in the Horizon system.

One sub-postmistress, Jacqueline McDonald, claimed she was “bullied” by Mr Bradshaw during an investigation into a shortfall of more than £94,000.

Mr Blake questioned Mr Bradshaw over whether he believed it was “career-boosting” to continue the case against Ms McDonald, after he could be seen suggesting her queries over Horizon’s integrity would have a “wider impact on the business”.

Mr Bradshaw responded: “The issue would been discussed with the prosecution barrister – as you’re well aware, when you’re filling in one-to-ones, there’s always a flamboyant way of putting the words across.”

Throughout his witness statement, Mr Bradshaw said his investigations had been conducted in a “professional” manner.

Mr Bradshaw told the inquiry that a statement signed by him declaring the Post Office’s “absolute confidence” in the Horizon IT system was written by lawyers from the law firm Cartwright King.

The statement signed by the investigator in November 2012 said: “The Post Office continues to have absolute confidence in the robustness and integrity of its Horizon system.”

Mr Bradshaw told the inquiry: “In hindsight … there probably should have been another line stating ‘these are not my words’.”