A CLACKS representative has asked whether criminal charges should be brought against those behind the Post Office Horizon scandal.

The question from Clackmannanshire and Dunblane MSP Keith Brown came following a ministerial statement given to the Scottish Parliament by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC on the issue.

As previously reported, former Cambus sub-postmaster Robert Thomson was one of those falsely accused of embezzlement in the scandal and finally had his wrongful conviction quashed this year and has been backed by the MSP.

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: SCANDAL: Robert Thomson was sacked from his job at the Post Office and falsely accused of embezzlement. Pictures by Ben Montgomery Photography.

During Ms Bain’s appearance, which saw her confirm the Post Office has been stripped of its status as a specialist reporting agency to Scotland’s prosecutors due to the scandal, the Clacks SNP politician questioned whether the UK Government and the Post Office Ltd might face criminal proceedings.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Brown said: “As the Lord Advocate herself said, both the Post Office and the UK Government continued to support the Horizon system during the 2013 to 2015 period, and beyond with ‘worrying levels of deliberate and sustained concealment and deception... during this period’.

READ MORE: Former Cambus postmaster opens up on Horizon scandal

 

“The Scottish Government’s introduction this week of a bill to automatically exonerate those sub-postmasters wrongly convicted in Scotland is important and welcome and I raised the question today as to whether – given that the concealment was both ‘deliberate and sustained’ and that it can reasonably be said to have led to the imprisonment, traumatisation and even suicide of some of those who have been victims of this disgraceful deception - there could be criminal proceedings against those who were responsible for that deception?

“The Lord Advocate said that until she receives the outcome of the public inquiry she is not in a position to comment on the specific questions of either criminal or civil liability at the moment.

“I understand that but I will certainly continue to try and ensure that those responsible for this disgraceful episode are made to answer for the cover ups and that their victims can receive justice.”

The question came days after the Scottish Government proposed legislation to automatically exonerate sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the faulty Horizon IT system.