BBC Radio 4 highlights Post Office Horizon scandal

Postal

“With a potential 900+ cases of wrongful prosecution, and senior Post Office management having been forced to investigate them, this week’s daily 15-minute programmes on BBC Radio 4 explaining the Horizon affair in detail could not be more timely,” says CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey.

In an appeal to CWU members, Andy says: “If you can tune into BBC Radio 4 at 1.45pm this week and next week, then please do so – and spread the word to colleagues, friends and family.

“But if that time of day’s not possible, then there are ‘omnibus’ editions on the same channel at 9pm on Friday and again at the same time next Friday,” he adds.

As reported previously here on your CWU members’ website this matter relates to numerous cases of dismissals and prosecutions against postmasters on the basis of evidence from a faulty computer accounting system, ‘Horizon’, which indicated financial discrepancies where none actually existed.

A determined campaign led by the Justice for Sub-Postmasters Alliance, and fully supported by the CWU, won nearly £58 million in compensation payments last year for just over 550 of those wrongfully accused and prosecuted.

But the full public inquiry, which has been demanded by MPs of all parties and promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson has yet to be formally scheduled.

“It’s fully understandable, given the terrible public health crisis, that the promised inquiry has not yet been formally set up,” says Andy.

“But we do need this to be put into process as promptly as possible – and I strongly urge all our members to listen to these BBC Radio 4 broadcasts which I am sure will highlight the compelling case for a full public inquiry to proceed as soon as it’s practical to do so.

“It’s no exaggeration to describe the Horizon scandal as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK legal history – and justice must be won, full and proper compensation must be made, and those responsible must be held fully accountable.”

·        Full details of the BBC Radio 4 programmes here