A former sub-postmistress who was wrongly accused of theft and forced to pay out a five-figure sum has called on Police Scotland to investigate the Post Office for fraud.
Louise Dar was one of more than 700 branch managers accused of wrongdoing after faulty accounting software made it appear money was missing, with some managers being sent to prison.
Last Friday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is looking at “potential fraud offences” from those cases.
Post Office workers: ‘We were accused of theft but it was not us. It was them. They stole our lives’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that blanket legislation to exonerate subpostmasters convicted in England and Wales will be introduced within weeks.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells is to hand back her CBE over the fallout from the Horizon IT scandal.
That followed ITV’s drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which told the story of one sub-postmaster’s fight for justice, which aired last week.
Now Dar, 41, who ran the Post Office branch in Lenzie has called on Police Scotland to launch a parallel inquiry.
She said: “The Post Office refused to believe that I was not responsible for huge deficits in the accounts and my husband and I were forced to pay £44,000 to avoid prosecution.
“Where did all that money go? And the considerable amount taken from other sub-postmasters who were falsely accused?
“Police Scotland should investigate this as we have all struggled for justice and transparency for so long.
“But the investigation cannot affect or delay the ongoing official Post Office IT Horizon inquiry.
“Many sub-postmasters were falsely accused of theft because the Horizon system was seriously faulty. I was seven months pregnant when I met with auditors, one of whom could not recall ever meeting me. We paid the Post Office £44,000 which meant running up other debts which we will spend several years paying off.”
Some 93 convictions relating to Horizon have been overturned and more are likely to follow.
© ITVThe Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has the names of more than 80 people with criminal convictions potentially related to the Horizon system.
In November 2022 it referred six cases back to the Appeal Court, stating that the convictions may have been unsafe. Two of those convictions – Susan Sinclair and William Quarm – have been quashed. Tragically, Mr Quarm died a broken man 11 years before his name was cleared.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are not currently investigating, however we are liaising with other UK law enforcement partners and any information received will be assessed.”
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