The Post Office Horizon IT scandal may well be “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.
Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry which has been investigating the scandal, did not put it this way lightly.
After four hard-fought years, senior executives reduced to tears, and countless heartbreaking stories of the damage caused to the personal lives of sub-postmasters, the Post Office inquiry has finished gathering its main evidence.
It was set up to investigate why more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted and deemed criminals for theft and false accounting – when in fact it was the faulty Horizon IT system made by Fujitsu to blame.
This is why Mr Beer put it so strongly.
The inquiry has been looking to establish when the Post Office knew sub-postmasters weren’t responsible, why the Post Office never overturned prosecutions, and if there was a cover-up.
Throughout the process, we heard alarms were raised by external lawyers, people within the Post Office, the media, and most of all campaigners.
Some of the appearances at the inquiry have been shocking, revelatory and emotional.
Here, Sky News explores some of the key moments from the inquiry.
‘Subbies with their hands in the till’
No exchange quite compared to an email from the Post Office’s former managing director Alan Cook, who insisted it was sub-postmasters to blame and not technology.
This was despite victims consistently denying involvement.
It was during his evidence, that an email was read out – which said account shortfalls were down to “subbies with their hand in the till [who] choose to blame the technology when they are found to be short of cash”.
Mr Cook said it was an expression he would “regret for the rest of my life”.
He also highlighted systemic failures within the Post Office.
He claimed he was “unaware” the Post Office brought…
