Police take into account company manslaughter costs in Post Office scandal probe
Police are considering corporate manslaughter charges as part of their probe into the Post Office Horizon scandal, which is believed to have led to 13 people taking their own lives
Police are considering corporate manslaughter charges as part of their probe into the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Around 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives in relation to the scandal, a harrowing report by the Post Office inquiry found in July.
Thousands more postmasters lost their livelihoods and savings, and they and their families became outcasts after they were wrongly accused of stealing money from the Post Office where they worked.
Today, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said its investigation into the scandal is now considering corporate manslaughter charges. It also said they will continue to focus on potential charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Corporate manslaughter was created as an offence to ensure that companies and other organisations can be held properly accountable for very serious failings resulting in death.
READ MORE: Post Office inquiry bombshell as at least THIRTEEN victims took own lives
Police previously said the probe is “unprecedented” in size, with potentially more than 3,000 victims and evidence including more than 1.5 million documents. Any potential criminal trials linked to the investigation are not expected to take place until 2027.
The NPCC gave an update has been given to victims, in which they said there are now eight named suspects, with five having been interviewed under caution. It added that there are now a total of 53 persons of interests involved in the investigation. No arrests have yet been made and a process of providing case file material to the Crown Prosecution Service is ongoing.
More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after Fujitsu’s faulty account system made it look like they were swindling cash. Lead campaigner Alan Bates, who led 555 subpostmasters to victory in the High Court in 2019, has long called for those responsible for the scandal to be prosecuted.
Investigators previously said they are looking at “a significant number of people” from the Post Office, Fujitsu and in the legal profession.
The long-running battle for justice was thrown into the spotlight after ITV‘s drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office told the story of the scandal, which is widely considered to be the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history.
Around 1,000 people were prosecuted and convicted using data from the faulty Horizon system, the Post Office inquiry estimates.
