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Post Office investigation could be delayed by five years, police warn
Police chiefs say 111 detectives need to double their team to meet the timeline for potential prosecutions in the Horizon scandal.
- Commander Stephen Clayman warned Tuesday that the criminal investigation into the Post Office Horizon scandal faces a potential five-year delay without millions in additional funding, as the national police inquiry must nearly double its team from 111 to 210 officers to submit charging decisions by late next year or early 2028.
- Fujitsu's defective Horizon accounting system, operational since 1999, falsely created shortfalls at Post Office branches, resulting in approximately 1,000 wrongful prosecutions; the investigation Operation Olympos, launched in 2020, accelerated following ITV's broadcast of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
- Describing the inquiry as "hugely complex," Clayman noted investigators must forensically review eight million documents, with 13 of 53 suspects questioned to date; victims have lived with the scandal's impact for 24 years, with some having died while awaiting justice.
- Seema Misra OBE, imprisoned while pregnant in 2010 after wrongly being accused of stealing £74,000, said the funding delays are "very worrying" and questioned government resource allocation, while officials acknowledged the scandal as "an appalling injustice" and stated they were "considering requests for further funding."
- The Home Office has provided £3.2 million since 2023 and allocated £2.8 million for 2026/27, yet the £16.5 million shortfall persists as police forces already stretched must expand investigations; Clayman stressed the need to "provide answers as soon as possible" to victims awaiting accountability.
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Post Office Subpostmasters Face Five More Years’ Wait for Justice as Police Demand Millions in Extra Funding
Police have warned that the Post Office Horizon investigation could drag into the next decade, saying they need millions more to continue their work. The post Post Office Subpostmasters Face Five More Years’ Wait for Justice as Police Demand Millions in Extra Funding appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Sunderland EchoReposted by 
The Shields Gazette
The Shields GazetteBoldon campaigner demands Goverment funding to speed up justice for Post Office Horizon scandal victims
‘It is unacceptable that this could be delayed further due to a lack of funding’
·Sunderland, United Kingdom
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Sky News UKReposted by 
Great Yorkshire Radio
Great Yorkshire RadioHorizon Post Office scandal victims 'don't have luxury of time', inquiry commander warns
The police commander leading the inquiry into the Post Office scandal says £19.3m is needed to fund the "hugely complex" investigation or risk a five-year delay.
·United Kingdom
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
14%
C 57%
R 29%
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