Post Office told Scottish prosecutors dodgy Horizon IT system 'would not impact its legal cases'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Post Office tried to play down the potential impact of its dodgy IT system on criminal trials in Scotland, prosecutors have revealed.The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) admitted yesterday it first became aware of issues with the Horizon accounting system as far back as 2013.The bug-ridden Fujitsu software was responsible for ruining the lives of nearly 1,000 sub-postmasters across the UK, with hundreds being wrongly prosecuted for crimes such as theft and embezzlement.A spokesperson for the Crown Office has now revealed the Post Office claimed in 2013 the system would have no impact on its legal cases.Just 16 former sub-postmasters in Scotland had applied for their convictions to be reviewed by the end of last year - but it is estimated at least a further 80 could have the right to appeal.Asked if the Crown Office chose not to look again at the convictions in Scotland relating to Horizon because of assurances from the Post Office, a spokesperson said it could not provide a response.They added: "Retained records demonstrate that COPFS were first made aware of potential problems with the Horizon computer system in May 2013.“However, we were told by the Post Office at that time that these potential problems did not impact on any of our cases.”The Crown Office said it estimates up to 100 people were convicted in Scotland as a result of Horizon.Angela Constance told MSPs yesterday the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has sent seven cases to the appeal court, two of which have resulted in overturned convictions.The SNP Justice Secretary added that ministers were considering a scheme to pardon all sub-postmasters in Scotland caught up in the Horizon IT scandalDeputy Crown agent Kenny Donnelly