Police investigation into Post Office scandal to cost more than £50m

Investigation formalised

The national police investigation, Operation Olympos, was set up in May 2024, following the broadcast of the Post Office scandal-based drama, Mr Bates versus the Post Office, and the public anger it triggered.

The Post Office scandal saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted and convicted of financial crimes due to unexplained account shortfalls that were eventually found to have been caused by errors in the Horizon system. Thousands lost their livelihoods and had their lives turned upside down after repaying the unexplained losses.

The police investigation initially looked at the potential crimes of perjury and perverting the course of justice, and focused on “key individuals” involved in subpostmaster prosecutions. Phase two will investigate wider offences.

In December 2024, police said they were not ruling out any person or crime in the Post Office scandal investigation.

The team of 100 officers from across the country originally had 1.5 million documents to review. In June, after an initial investigation, the number had reached the six million mark. The number of documents and suspects is expected to rise further, according to a statement by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

At the time, police said they were investigating 45 people in relation to potential crimes, with seven formally identified as suspects.

Sir Alan Bates, who led subpostmasters in their fight against the Post Office, asked: “What price do you put on justice?”

He pointed to the huge amount spent by the Post Office on “defending its lies” over the years, adding: “If it holds the real guilty in all this to account, then it’s worth every penny.”

Cost acceptance, but accountability must follow

Former subpostmaster and victim of the scandal, Lee Castleton, accepted that the police investigation would take time and cost a lot of money, but he demanded accountability.

“Accountability is really important,” he said. “All police investigations are expensive, and I can imagine that it will be very detailed and very difficult to investigate, with unhelpful witnesses.”

There has to be corporate accountability and there should be heavy fines

Castleton said accountability should go beyond individuals and include the companies involved. “There has to be corporate accountability and there should be heavy fines.”

As Computer Weekly revealed in 2020, the Met Police began assessing evidence of potential perjury offences committed by Fujitsu staff in criminal trials of subpostmasters prosecuted for accounting errors caused by a computer system.

In January that year, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) referred the concerns of High Court judge Peter Fraser about the accuracy of evidence given by Fujitsu staff in criminal trials to the Metropolitan Police. This followed his judgment that found errors in the Horizon system had caused the unexplained branch account shortfalls experienced by subpostmasters.

Three months later, the Met began assessing the evidence, and in November 2021, it opened a criminal investigation into Fujitsu staff who gave evidence in trials of subpostmasters, namely Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers.

The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, when it revealed the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to the accounting software (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal below).