Horizon Scandal

There are more than 20 investigations underway into solicitors who worked for the Post Office in cases linked to the Horizon scandal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has said. The SRA is investigating the conduct of Post Office or Royal Mail Group lawyers during the period in which subpost

Sub-postmasters in Scotland who were wrongly convicted as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal have now been exonerated. The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act received royal assent yesterday and came into force today. The legislation was passed in the Scottish Parliament on

Judges failed subpostmasters convicted in the Horizon scandal, according to a former director of public prosecutions. Sir David Calvert-Smith, 79, who reviewed scores of appeals for the Post Office, said that in at least 12 convictions, judges ought to have “probed” the prosecution case

Legislation has been passed that will automatically exonerate sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted as a result of the faulty Horizon IT system, the day after Royal Assent is granted. Those whose convictions are quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will be abl

Sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the faulty Horizon IT system will automatically be exonerated under proposed legislation introduced at Holyrood. Those whose convictions are quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will then be able to access the UK gov

The Scottish government is to bring forward legislation clearing the names of the victims of the Horizon scandal before the summer. Justice Secretary Angela Constance told a cabinet meeting that the UK government was "inexplicably" refusing to quash the convictions of sub-postmasters in Scotland, ev

If UK legislation quashing the convictions related to the Horizon scandal does not include Scotland then similar legislation will be introduced at Holyrood, Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said. Ms Constance said: “We, along with the Northern Ireland Executive, urged the UK government t

Watermans is to represent former Clackmannanshire sub-postmaster Rab Thomson as he pursues compensation from the Post Office following his wrongful conviction for embezzling money. Mr Thomson, 64, was found guilty in 2006 after an audit showed an apparent shortfall of nearly £6,000 at his Camb

Now that the dust has not settled on the Horizon scandal in Scotland as it relates to convictions of sub-postmasters, it is useful to recall what the lord advocate said in the Scottish Parliament on 16 January, writes former sheriff Douglas J. Cusine. “In September 2020, supported by Crown Off

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the case of Joanne Hughes on behalf of the late Caren Lorimer to the High Court of Justiciary for determination. In 2009, Mrs Lorimer pled guilty at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court to one charge of embezzlement from a post office. The court imposed

Post Office lawyers feared a public relations disaster if the Crown Office halted prosecutions, the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal has heard. In a witness statement, Kenneth Donnelly, deputy crown agent for specialist casework said that the Crown Office was approached in 2013 after provisio

Dear Editor, In the lord advocate’s statement to the Scottish Parliament on 16 January, she said that cases of those subpostmasters convicted of fraud would be referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and that all cases would be considered on their merits.

The Post Office "failed in its duty of revelation" to the Crown Office, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC told Holyrood yesterday as she apologised to victims of the Horizon scandal. Ms Bain, who blamed the Post Office for failures that led to victims being prosecuted, appeared before MSPs to answer que

If he might crave the reader’s indulgence, this idle scrivener would very much like to share his fun idea for an exciting new parlour game or, equally, a pub quiz for the judicially aware at any learned hangout where good claret can be had. A subtle combination of Where’s Wally and Clued

The understandable furore over the malicious dishonesty of those involved in the prosecution, better word persecution, of innocent sub-postmasters by the once trusted Post Office seems to me merely one example of a wider malaise in our present society. Like many bad-tempered old court lawyers, I hav