'Dozens of people' being investigated over Post Office scandal, police chief reveals
11 December 2024, 14:54 | Updated: 11 December 2024, 16:01
Police are investigating "dozens of people" at the Post Office and Fujitsu, the head of a nationwide operation has announced.
A team of 100 officers nationwide are looking at potential suspects and their involvement in the Post Office scandal.
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.
Last month, Sky News exclusively revealed that at least four suspects were being investigated and the offences being considered were those of perverting the course of justice and perjury.
A meeting has been held between senior Metropolitan Police officers and victims, including Sir Alan Bates.
They were informed that officers are currently sifting through at least 1.5 million documents involving thousands of victims.
Commander Stephen Clayman, leading Operation Olympos, said "dozens" of people at the Post Office and Fujitsu were being investigated.
He added: "We will go where the evidence takes us... our ongoing goal is the pursuit of justice".
Three people have been interviewed under caution so far, with plans to question more suspects in 2025.
If the Criminal Prosecution Service decides that the evidence standard is met, any potential trial would not be until at least 2027.
Former sub-postmistress Jess Kaur was wrongly accused of 36 counts of theft from her Post Office in Aldridge in the West Midlands.
She suffered a mental breakdown and attempted to take her own life as a result.
Ms Kaur said it was "quite disgusting" that any trial would be years away but said she understood that the police need time to properly investigate.
"There's not just one or two of them [to investigate] so it will take time," she told Sky News. "I hope they do a good job, we don't want to rush them."
She added, however, that "hundreds were put behind bars straight away" when they were falsely accused of stealing from the Post Office.
"We will never know what was going on behind the scenes but it's all coming out," she said.
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Officers from police forces across the UK and the National Crime Agency are working together to investigate potential crimes.
Commander Stephen Clayman described former sub-postmasters and their families as being "at the heart of this investigation".
"The scale of the task ahead is unprecedented," he said, adding that officers are being supported by "cutting-edge technology" to help work through evidence in documents.
"I cannot make promises that this will be a fast process. An investigation of this size must continue to be undertaken meticulously and methodically and will take time.
"However, I speak on behalf of our whole team when I say we will approach it with independence, precision and integrity."
(c) Sky News 2024: 'Dozens of people' being investigated over Post Office scandal, police chief reveals
