New evidence in the ongoing investigation into the Post Office scandal has uncovered an email in which Fujitsu “distinguished engineer” Gareth Jenkins seemed to be defending the Horizon system, saying that sub-postmasters were “trying to get away with ‘Horizon has taken my money’”. This email was seen by the Horizon Inquiry on Tuesday. Jenkins was a noted expert witness who gave evidence supporting the integrity of the Horizon system in a number of prosecutions. However, in 2013, concerns were raised about his evidence when it emerged that he had failed to disclose information “in plain breach of his duty as an expert witness”.
Jenkins was instrumental in many of the prosecutions of postmasters and postmistresses wrongly accused of crimes relating to the Horizon system. One of these was the West Byfleet postmistress Seema Misra, who was jailed while pregnant. More than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty software used by the Post Office made it appear money was missing from their branch accounts.
On Tuesday, the Horizon Inquiry heard from Hugh Flemington, the former head of legal at the Post Office. Given an email sent by Jenkins in 2010 referring to a trial where he was providing expert evidence, Flemington said he was “surprised” when he saw Jenkins’ email, since he couldn’t recall any request for expert evidence from the Post Office. This new evidence is likely to have a significant impact since Jenkins’ evidence was regarded as crucial in many prosecutions of sub-postmasters and postmistresses.
Jenkins is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for potential perjury. In March, his lawyer said it would be “inappropriate” to comment ahead of his client giving evidence to the Inquiry in June. Flemington is one of several former Post Office executives and IT experts who have been giving evidence as part of the Inquiry
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