This week, the long-running public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal will take evidence on the case of Bill Quarm, a father of five who ran a post office in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.
Quarm did not live to see his conviction quashed last year, after pleading guilty to a charge of embezzlement in 2010 to avoid a prison sentence, but his widow, Anne, has described the shame that overwhelmed her husband in the aftermath of his prosecution.
While about 900 post office workers across the UK were prosecuted on the basis of evidence from the faulty digital accounting system, estimates of those affected in Scotland have fluctuated between 54 and 100. But what is certain is that only 17 have thus far come forward seeking review of their convictions.
MSPs supporting post office operators are raising serious concerns about the more complicated and daunting route to justice facing Horizon victims in Scotland.
Indeed, Calum Greenhow, chief executive of the National Federation of SubPostmasters and a post office operator for 22 years in the village of West Linton, south of Edinburgh, has accused Scotland’s chief prosecutor of “placing further obstacles in the road to justice”.
In Scotland, the cases were investigated by the Post Office but they were prosecuted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), the state prosecutor in Scotland, in contrast to England and Wales where the Post Office pursued the vast majority of cases directly.
Dorothy Bain, the lord advocate who heads the COPFS, gave a statement to the Scottish parliament last week in which she raised the possibility that “not every case in which Horizon evidence is present will represent a miscarriage of justice” – setting her at odds with the first minister, Humza Youaf, who has said his government would work with UK counterparts to adopt Rishi Sunak’s pledge of blanket exoneration.
Greenhow said: “Down south, it looks like the judiciary is willing to work with the prime minister to have these convictions quashed irrespective of whether the individuals have come forward or not. But the lord advocate have argued that due process must be followed, with prosecutors coming to the appeal court to explain why they are no longer relying on a conviction.
“I understand Bain saying that the court can’t have a kneejerk reaction, but her tone and language were not empathetic to what people have endured over decades.”
Michael Marra MSP, who hosted a group of post office operators at Holyrood last summer, believes there are a variety of reasons why Scottish Horizon victims may not have come forward. He said: “Some have moved on, some are too traumatised by their experience to return to it, and there is an ongoing lack of trust with the post office.”
He added: “The Lord advocate’s statement to parliament last week added further uncertainty to the process, at points contradicting what the first minister had previously said. People feel they are being asked to re-engage with an arduous process but serious doubts remain as to whether the outcome will be any different.”
In September 2020, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which continues to encourage potential victims of injustice to come forward, wrote to 73 individuals who may have been wrongly convicted by Horizon evidence, undertaking extensive follow-ups given the difficulties of locating those involved in what are largely historic cases.
Since then, 17 individuals have sought s review of their cases, resulting in seven referrals to the high court, four of which have resulted in convictions being overturned.
Last week, Bain said the Crown Office had been reviewing about 100 potential Horizon cases, which had since been reduced to 54.
The SNP MSP Michelle Thomson last week asked Bain what consideration had been given to how the potential for retraumatisation could act as a barrier to some people applying for a review. Bain said this was a legitimate point. Thomson also pointed to the complex and time-consuming nature of claim forms that applicants who already feel poorly served by the legal establishment are expected to fill out.
She asked: “Are different treatment and timescales in Scotland really sustainable?”
