DUNFERMLINE and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman has called for "swift accountability" and "closure this year" for those affected by what he has called the "biggest miscarriage of justice" in UK history.

The politician questioned witnesses in the Post Office Horizon scandal at Westminster as they appeared in front of the Business and Trade Committee.

Witnesses called included the Rt Hon Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, the peer and former MP who has campaigned long and hard for justice for sub postmasters, Dr Neil Hudgell, Executive Chairman at Hudgell Solicitors, who has provided legal representation for Sub postmasters.

Also giving evidence were Alan Bates, of Justice for Sub Postmasters Alliance, and Sub Postmaster Jo Hamilton whose experiences were dramatised in the recent ITV series.

Dunfermline Press:

The European Director of Fujitsu, Paul Patterson and Post Office CEO, Nick Read were also present along with Kevin Hollinrake MP, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, and Carl Creswell, Director for Business Resilience at the Department for Business and Trade.

Mr Chapman said: "Many people in the UK are now aware of this terrible miscarriage of justice thanks to the recent ITV drama series and newspaper coverage. But listening today to the evidence from the witnesses was really quite shocking.

"Over and over again, the human aspect of this scandal came up, the unfairness and cruelty of the system as Alan Bates pointed out, particularly highlighted by Jo Hamilton’s comment on her parents not living to see her conviction overturned.

"Witnesses pointed out that this scandal was caused by much more than just a flawed IT system, but also a flawed human reaction in how it was so badly dealt with and the resultant toll on innocent Post Office workers.”

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The Committee session was called to scrutinize why the process of redress for victims of this Post Office Horizon scandal has taken so long, to examine in depth the UK Government’s processes to enable overturning convictions and speeding up compensation, and to ask questions of Post Office and Fujitsu representatives.

“In my questions to Lord Arbuthnot and Dr Hudgell, they both highlighted the need for Fujitsu to play their part in redressing those falsely accused, and those who lost significant sums of personal money leading to bankruptcy in some cases," said Mr Chapman.

"Swift accountability and closure this year is key here – especially as Dr Hudgell pointed out the 100s of psychiatric reports he has seen which highlight the terrible damage to people’s mental health and suffering.”

"There are still so many unanswered questions, not least the implications for the government’s own procurement processes and public confidence in these processes. Is there another Horizon scandal sitting in a government department waiting to happen?

“Of course, there are many possible victims still out there who have not come forward, people who lost a lot of their personal money, went bankrupt or were sent to prison but disappeared under the radar. We think this is the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history, and yet, what we know now, no matter how awful, may be only the tip of the iceberg.”

Meanwhile, Scotland's Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, addressed the Scottish Parliament on the scandal this week, acknowledging "the harm" caused to people who have suffered a miscarriage of justice.

"The wrongly accused and convicted sub postmasters and postmistresses are due an apology from those who have failed them, and I do that today as head of the system of criminal prosecution in Scotland," she said.

"The Post Office is part of that system and I apologise for the failures of those in the Post Office who were responsible for investigating and reporting flawed cases.

"As a prosecutor, preventing and correcting miscarriages of justice is as important to me as inviting a court to convict for a crime. That is fundamental to my commitment to the rule of law."

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The Lord Advocate said it was "clear" that the Post Office failed in its duty of revelation and, as a result, some individuals were prosecuted when they should not have been.

"I am very deeply troubled by what has occurred, and I remain acutely concerned that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service was repeatedly misled by the Post Office," she said. "Assurances which were just not true were repeatedly given.

"To those wrongfully convicted, I understand your anger and apologise for the way you have been failed by trusted institutions and the criminal justice system. I stand beside you in your pursuit of justice.

"I commit to transparency in the information which is held by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, subject to the restrictions of the ongoing Appeals and the ongoing Public Inquiry."