Subpostmasters hit by Post Office scandal plan to meet over nuclear option

Frustration with slow financial redress could trigger the nuclear option for former subpostmasters who have campaigned for justice since 2009.

During a meeting in Kineton, Warwickshire on Sunday 17 November, 150 members of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) aired their frustration at the slow progress in receiving financial redress.

JFSA chair Sir Alan Bates said that the vast majority of those who attended have not received their financial redress. “People are frustrated,” he said.

This came after the government refused Bates’ request to the Prime Minister for a deadline to be set for full, fair and final redress for all.

He told Computer Weekly: “There are concerns about that and everybody is worried about the time it is taking – it could go on for years and we can’t get a deadline from them.

“We discussed other options if we didn’t get a deadline for financial redress, and we are going to look at that more seriously and perhaps call a special meeting to agree a way forward.”

It was made clear in an earlier circular to JFSA members that legal action was an option, with the group’s ability to raise the necessary funds not in doubt.

“We need that guarantee, not excuses, otherwise, as I have often alluded to, we will have to go back to the courts, and I will be meeting with new law firms to discuss ways we can move the issue back to the courts,” said Bates. “But the difference now is that we have the support of the nation behind us, and have no doubt at all that, when the time comes, we will be able to crowdfund whatever funding we will need.”

The JFSA was formed in September 2009, after Computer Weekly’s investigation into the Horizon system brought seven subpostmasters together. It has been a fierce campaign group ever since, exposing one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in history, which included: defeating the Post Office in a mutimillion-pound High Court trial, forcing a statutory public inquiry, overturning of hundreds of wrongful convictions, and moving a nation through ITV’s dramatisation of its work.

The Metropolitan Police addended a later section of the JFSA meeting to discuss its ongoing investigation into possible crimes committed during the Post Office scandal.

A Met police spokesperson said: “…we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected subpostmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps. Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course. Initially, four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

Bates told Computer Weekly: “It could be years because there is so much to sift through – just look at how long the public inquiry took. But the main thing is that the police are taking this very seriously and they will go where the evidence takes them, regardless of how high up the chain it goes.”

Computer Weekly first exposed the scandal in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to Horizon accounting software, which led to the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history (see below timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009).

• Also read: What you need to know about the Horizon scandal •