Public inquiry hears how Post Office security withheld evidence from people it suspected of theft

A count on of of withheld evidence 

At some level of the most fresh listening to, worn Tony Marsh, head of security at Put up Place of industrial till 2006 used to be asked a few Put up Place of industrial coverage worn by groups investigating suspected theft or fraud by subpostmasters when reporting their findings.

It used to be printed that two paperwork had been created, which the investigators would total with their findings following preliminary investigations.

The principle used to be is named the Offender sage, which Marsh described as a chunky sage sent by Put up Place of industrial investigators to the lawyers within the steady department. It detailed all the pieces the investigator had established surrounding the alleged offences and alleged wrongdoer. Within this, the investigator would manufacture comments about security weaknesses, other procedural and product integrity weaknesses, as successfully because the perspective of the suspect after they had been interviewed, acknowledged Marsh. 

“This need to be a complete record of all identified screw ups in security procedures and product integrity. It’ll be highlighted in intrepid within the sage,” Put up Place of industrial guidance acknowledged. Marsh described this as a “chunky sage” that can per chance per chance well dawdle to case administration groups and Put up Place of industrial steady products and companies.

The different sage, is named the Disciplinary sage, which went to the suspect, used to be described as a subset of the Offender Notify that can per chance per chance well not include determined diminutive print. This sage would generally be given to the suspect, but would exclude determined files that used to be directed to the prison legitimate working on the potential prosecution.

It warned that the inclusion of files on “most necessary screw ups” might per chance per chance per chance well sever the possibilities of a successful prosecution of a suspect and/or reason “most necessary damage” to the Put up Place of industrial’s industry. It acknowledged this files about “most necessary” screw ups, including in regard to product integrity, need to be “confined fully” to the confidential Offender sage.

It added: “Care need to be exercised when including screw ups accurate by the Disciplinary sage as clearly here is disclosed to the suspect wrongdoer and can own ramifications on every prison system of the inquiry and as being potentially adversarial to the recognition or security of the industry. In case that you just shall be in any doubt over the appropriateness of its inclusion or exclusion, it be most essential to focus on this with your team chief.”

Inquiry barrister Jason Beer KC asked Marsh whether or not he sees any disclose with these statements. Marsh acknowledged the total files need to be disclosed, but added that there own been fears within the Put up Place of industrial that if weaknesses had been highlighted within the Disciplinary sage, which went to suspects, they would per chance per chance well be “exploited worthy extra broadly by other folks within the neighborhood.”

Beer acknowledged: “It is announcing, ‘If there are info and issues which undermine the prospect of [successful prosecutions], they need to be confined fully to the confidential wrongdoer sage’, doesn’t it?”

“So, ‘Info which relief a suspects defence, or which undermine the allegation against him, need to be saved confidential’ is what this document is announcing.”

Marsh disagreed and acknowledged it could per chance per chance per chance well dawdle to the steady department who would own “an duty of disclosure” and there is no such thing as a count on of that the certainty would not secure its device, having been viewed by a prison legitimate, to a suspect’s steady team if a resolution to prosecute used to be made.

Beer acknowledged: “It doesn’t assert that in any admire, it doesn’t assert, ‘And then there need to be consideration to birth to the suspect any info or issues that undermine the case against them’.”

Marsh admitted that he used to be attempting to give an explanation for a document he didn’t develop and had no involvement in.

Beer acknowledged: “Here is written into a coverage, as intrepid as brass in sad and white, ‘Don’t direct a suspect something relating to the case against them that can per chance per chance well undermine it’.”

At some level of the listening to, Marsh used to be additionally proven a Put up Place of industrial document relating to its prosecution technique. It acknowledged: “There is no such thing as a single whine of most recent coverage, but it indubitably might per chance per chance even be summed up as generally to prosecute all breaches of the prison legislation by staff which affect the Put up Place of industrial, and which include dishonesty. Nonetheless, there are exceptions…”

One of the most exceptions listed within the document used to be the set the “Honest Companies Dept uncover that the prosecution will not be inclined to succeed”. Proof of pc problems would own made prosecutions worthy for the Put up Place of industrial.

Here will not be the well-known-time evidence of the Put up Place of industrial security department hiding evidence has emerged. At some level of a Court of Enchantment listening to in 2021, it used to be printed that the Put up Place of industrial instructed staff to shred paperwork that undermined the integrity of the Horizon pc design. The actual person to blame for giving instructions to shred paperwork used to be, like Marsh, a worn head of security on the Put up Place of industrial. This used to be John Scott, who is attributable to face questions within the final public inquiry on Wednesday 12 July.

At the stop of giving evidence, Marsh admitted that he didn’t ask the upright questions about Horizon within the center of his time on the Put up Place of industrial, including that he used to be responsible of “inviting the neighborhood assume accurate by the Put up Place of industrial that [Horizon] used to be a upright worthy design”.

In 2009, a Pc Weekly investigation first printed that subpostmasters had been being blamed for unexplained accounting shortfalls, which they believed to be attributable to tool errors (undercover agent timeline of Pc Weekly articles below.)

It has radically change a nationwide scandal inspiring the manager, the Put up Place of industrial and IT vendor Fujitsu. Three phases of a statutory public inquiry into the scandal own been total.