Convictions of Post Office Employees Quashed By Court Of Appeal
12/12/2021
Ambrose v Post Office Ltd [2021] EWCA Crim 1443
In April 2021 Judges quashed the criminal convictions of 39 former Postmasters following what was called the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice. Following on from this highly-publicised decision, in October 2021, the Court of Appeal in Ambrose v Post Office Ltd quashed the convictions of a further 12 Post Office employees who had been convicted of theft, fraud, false accounting, and suppression of valuable security based on data from a computerised accounting system which had identified a shortfall in branch accounts. The data had been unreliable and as there was no other evidence of a shortfall, the data had been essential to the prosecution. The prosecutions were both unfair and an affront to justice. Despite any guilty pleas, the employees' convictions were deemed unsafe.
The background to the decision
Between 2003 and 2012, the 12 former employees who held the positions of Sub-Postmasters (SPMs), Sub Post-Mistresses, and Managers were each prosecuted and convicted after a computerised accounting system (Horizon) identified a shortfall in the accounts of the branches where they worked. Nine of the 12 pleaded guilty. Eleven were given a custodial sentence, although most of these were suspended.
Subsequent civil proceedings brought against the Post Office by hundreds of SPMs (Bates v Post Office Ltd (No.6: Horizon Issues) [2019] EWHC 3408 (QB), [2019] 12 WLUK 208), found that there was a material risk that bugs, errors, or defects in Horizon may have caused the alleged shortfalls and the Post Office did not investigate or disclose those problems.
In Hamilton v Post Office Ltd [2021] EWCA Crim 577, [2021] Crim. L.R. 684, [2021] 4 WLUK 227 the Court of Appeal used the term "Horizon cases" to refer to cases where there was no evidence of a shortfall other than the Horizon data.
The Appellants, in this case, argued that their individual cases were ‘Horizon’ cases and claimed:
1. In light of the High Court’s findings in Bates the trial process couldn't be judged as fair, and
2. The evidence, together with the High Court's findings, showed that it was an insult to the public conscience for them to face prosecution.
The Court of Appeal’s decision and the continuing aftermath of the investigation
Every one of the 12 Appellants had their convictions quashed.
The continuing fallout from the scandal has been harsh and serves as a warning for all private companies and public bodies.
The first public hearing regarding the scandal that saw Sub Postmasters sent to prison is set to begin in November 2021. In converting the inquiry from non-statutory to statutory, Paul Scully, Minister for London and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Small Business, Consumers, and Labour Markets) said in a written statement:
“Government wants to be fully assured that through the Inquiry there is a public summary of the failings associated with Post Office Ltd’s Horizon IT system. The Inquiry will draw on the findings made by Mr Justice Fraser from the Bates and others v Post Office Limited Group Litigation (in particular Judgment (No3) ‘Common Issues’ and Judgment (No 6) ‘Horizon issues’), the judgments of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in R v Hamilton and others, and other judgments in which convictions have been quashed. It will consider all other relevant evidence, listen to those that have been affected, understand what went wrong, and assess whether lessons have been learned and whether concrete changes have taken place, or are underway, at Post Office Ltd.”
The inquiry will undoubtedly provide a wealth of information about how organisations can improve their systems and management practices to ensure such a miscarriage of justice never occurs again.
If you are interested in following the inquiry you can watch it on a dedicated YouTube channel.
