Commission encourages Post Office convictions reviews

People with criminal convictions in Scotland potentially affected by the issues arising from the Post Office’s Horizon computer system have been encouraged to enquire about having their convictions reviewed.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission announced today that it has written to 73 individuals potentially affected by the scandal, and is encouraging all those who may have suffered a miscarriage of justice to make contact with it.

The Commission’s approach is based on information provided by the Post Office, which for several years sought prosecutions for alleged dishonesty regarding cash shortages by sub-postmasters and others, before finally admitting that its recently introduced computer system had been faulty.

Gerard Sinclair, chief executive of the SCCRC, explained: "We are taking the unusual step of contacting a large number of individuals because we want to work out the scale of the problem in Scotland and do whatever we can to address it. Many of those affected by Horizon will have had no prior experience of the criminal justice system. We want anyone who has been wrongly convicted to know that a remedy is available.

"We believe that there may be others affected by Horizon who aren’t on our contact list. The contact details that we have for some people may also be out of date. If you don’t receive a letter, but think that you were wrongly convicted as a result of information from Horizon, I would urge you to make contact with us."