The first criminal trials linked to the Post Office Horizon scandal will not take place until 2027, almost 30 years after the first concerns.
Police are investigating possible crimes committed by Post Office and Fujitsu employees as well as external lawyers, following wrongful prosecutions of hundreds of sub-postmasters after faulty Horizon software said Money was missing from the accounts of their Post Office branch.
Three suspects have already been questioned under caution and more are planned to be questioned next year, according to police.
But no one will be charged until officers read the final report of the separate public inquiry. It is unclear when this report will be released.
Lee Castleton, a subpostmaster from Bridlington in North Yorkshire who went bankrupt in 2004 after losing a two-year battle with the Post Office over Horizon, said: “I don't understand why this took so long, I can't understand why things have to be repeated over and over again… But you know, never give in, we will get there.
The first media reports of Horizon's problems were published by Computer Weekly in 2009. Alan Bates and his fellow subpostmasters won the first of their two High Court victories in March 2019, eight years before the start of the first criminal trials.
Around 100 officers from across England and Wales are currently working on what they have called Operation Olympos, which began in 2020. The investigation will be led by the London Metropolitan Police, while the Police Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the National Crime Agency are also involved.
Commander Steve Clayman, who is leading the investigation, said: “We believe more than 3,000 people have been affected in some way by Horizon. So it's huge and we need to deploy a proportionate number of officers. »
The first phase of the investigation will focus on those who make “key decisions” regarding investigations and prosecutions, examining possible offenses of perjury and the serious offense of perverting the course of justice.
A second phase will expand the network, potentially including senior post executives.
Work is already underway to build some cases, and police maintain regular dialogue with the Crown Prosecution Service.
The first trials could involve cases from either phase, police said, but timelines and the number of potential suspects could change as more evidence is gathered.
Agents are already working with 1.5 million documents in this case and expect that number to increase.
The inquiry has also launched an online portal to allow deputy postmasters and others to submit evidence to the inquiry.
