Post Office statement on Southwark Crown Court appeals

Southwark Crown Court today (14 May 2021) formally acquitted two former postmasters, referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), in uncontested appeals. The cases, from 2001 and 2006, were referred to the Court in January 2021 and relate to convictions in Magistrates’ Courts in which Post Office acted as prosecutor.

A Post Office spokesman said:

“Post Office sincerely is extremely sorry for historical failures and the impact these have had on the lives of people affected.

“We are taking determined action to fully address the past and have undertaken wholesale reforms to prevent such events ever happening again.”

In appeals to date, the Post Office has supported the overturning of convictions in 47 cases including the two appeals today. The Court of Appeal upheld the safety of convictions in the three appeals Post Office opposed.

Post Office prosecutions effectively ceased in 2013, although two cases featuring Horizon computer evidence were prosecuted in 2015. Following an extensive review by external criminal law specialists, which commenced in January 2020, the Post Office is contacting people with criminal convictions since 1999 that may be affected.

Fundamental reforms

Post Office has taken extensive action to continue to transform the organisation and re-set its relationship with postmasters to forge a substantive partnership.

Actions taken include:

Appointing two current postmasters as Non-Executive Directors to the Post Office Board to influence Post Office strategy and the implementation of programmes affecting postmasters.

Undertaking a wide-ranging programme of improvements to overhaul culture, practices and operating procedures throughout every part of the Post Office to create an open and transparent relationship with postmasters.

Comprehensive improvements made from initial recruitment and training through to daily transaction accounting, including design changes made to transactions on the Horizon system, based on postmaster feedback.

Note to editors:

The two cases today related to convictions in Magistrates’ Courts, which must be appealed to the Crown Court. The appeal process for a Magistrates’ Court conviction is a re-trial rather than a review of the original proceedings and, as Post Office did not oppose either of these appeals, the former postmasters were acquitted. This process does not require the Court to issue a written judgment.

On 11 December 2020 six former postmasters were formally acquitted in uncontested appeals at Southwark Crown Court, following referrals by the CCRC. These were convictions in Magistrates’ Courts which must be appealed to the Crown Courts.

Most referrals by the CCRC were to the Court of Appeal because they relate to convictions in the Crown Court. On 23April 2021, the Court of Appeal overturned 39 convictions in unopposed appeals and upheld the safety of convictions in three appeals opposed by the Post Office.

In addition to full co-operation with the CCRC’s review, an extensive post-conviction disclosure exercise, by external criminal law specialists Peters and Peters, was commenced in January 2020 to identify and disclose material which might affect the safety of past convictions relating to Horizon. Its purpose was to identify and make disclosure to all people prosecuted in affected cases, irrespective of outcomes in the appeal Courts. The Courts, CCRC and defence representatives have been kept informed of progress and the process of contacting people who may be affected began on 6 May 2021.