Horizon scandal: Police handed two cases by team investigating Post Office staff

ITV News understands the cases were flagged to the Met by an internal inquiry set up by the Post Office, as Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt reports

Words by ITV News Senior Producer Isabel Alderson-Blench

Detectives investigating the Horizon IT scandal have been made aware of at least two cases of potential criminal activity by Post Office employees, ITV News has learned.

The referrals were made by a team working within the Post Office, which is examining claims by sub-postmasters of historical wrongdoing by staff.

ITV News understands the cases were passed to the Metropolitan Police by Project Phoenix, an internal inquiry set up by the Post Office in 2023 to review allegations made by sub-postmasters about the conduct of Post Office investigators who handled their cases.

It is not known who, or what, the referrals relate to.

At the height of the Horizon scandal, sub-postmasters accused by the Post Office of theft were subject to police-style interviews carried out by its own internal investigators working for its security team.

Interviews and reports carried out by these internal investigators were then used as evidence to help convict sub-postmasters. In total more than 1,000 innocent men and women were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office.

Dozens of sub-postmasters have made complaints about the conduct of the investigators the Post Office sent to interview them, accusing them of bullying, intimidation and crucially omitting key evidence from their interviews regarding faults with the Horizon IT system, which were ultimately to blame for money going missing.

Investigator who ignored sub-postmaster’s warning about Horizon under the spotlight

Alison Hall and Allison Henderson were both wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office. They were sentenced to more than 300 hours of community service between them, and forced to pay back thousands of pounds.

They were both investigated by the same man: Christopher Knight.

He is one of the Post Office employees under investigation himself by Project Phoenix, ITV News has learned.

“It was the most awful experience. He just did bully and bash…it really was the worst time of my life,” Allison Henderson told us.

“It was only 40 minutes, but it was like 40 minutes of hell,” Alison Hall said.

A transcript of Mrs Hall’s interview, seen by ITV News, shows the former sub-postmaster telling Mr Knight about Horizon issues.

She said: “I am not a thief…I just want all this to be looked at in detail because Horizon’s system's not 100%. I have got all the details here, I’d like that to be taken into account please.”

Despite her plea, Christopher Knight’s report to the criminal law team failed to mention anything about Horizon issues. This report was used as evidence in Mrs Hall’s prosecution.

Last year, Mrs Hall saw the full transcript for the first time.

“I was shocked…I blame him a lot. I shouldn’t have had to go through everything that I’ve been through, and I did - because of him,” she told us.

While sub-postmasters were suspended without pay whilst they were investigated, Christopher Knight remains in his job at the Post Office.

Concerns raised over Project Phoenix

The Post Office has hired four former police officers to work on Project Phoenix and an ITV News Freedom of Information Request found, with a budget of almost £1 million.

Initially, the team were told by the Post Office they would not be allowed to interview sub-postmasters about their experience, and that many of the documents they needed were not available.

Sources close to the project say the team have been faced with a defensive culture, and complicated bureaucracy.

Concerns have also been raised over the Post Office running the project internally - ITV News has learned that the team of ex-police officers report into an internal panel of senior Post Office staff, who make decisions over recommendations put to them.

So far, all current members of staff being investigated remain employed by the Post Office.

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Sub-postmaster told investigator she had nothing to hide

Stephen Bradshaw is a Post Office investigator who we understand is also under investigation himself by Project Phoenix.

Mr Bradshaw has been the subject of multiple complaints by sub-postmasters, including allegedly calling one a "bitch", and asking another if she had been using money from her Post Office in Northern Ireland to fund paramilitary groups.

In evidence given to the Post Office Inquiry, he denied both.

He was also the man who interviewed former Hull sub-postmaster Janet Skinner in 2006, after an audit she requested showed a £59,000 shortfall.

“He was arrogant, he had a lot of arrogance about him,” Janet said.

“They go in there with the mindset that you’re guilty anyway, before you’ve even started asking questions.”

Just months after her interview with Mr Bradshaw, Janet was found guilty of false accounting. She was sentenced to nine months in prison.

The impact on her life has been immeasurable.

“I didn’t let my kids see me in prison…I lost my house in the October, and then suffered a neurological breakdown. My body just attacked itself. It left me paralysed from the neck down. I was in hospital for four and a half months. They told me I’d never walk again.”

Her interview transcripts, also seen by ITV News, show her repeatedly telling Mr Bradshaw she was not a thief, and did not know where the money was.

Janet said: “I am not a thief...I can sleep at night knowing I haven't taken the money.

"You can investigate me as much as you want. I don’t care. I have got nothing to hide. You can search my house, you can rip it apart, you can do the same in my bank account for the past 5 years. I have got nothing to hide whatsoever.”

Warnings of another cover-up?

Janet believes if Mr Bradshaw had investigated her case fully, she may not have faced the same consequences.

“Angry is a very, very tame word to use," she said.

"You can’t say how much frustration it gives you…They could have prevented so many people. Everybody has suffered from what they’ve done.”

Janet Skinner is one of several subpostmasters we have spoken to who have refused to engage with Project Phoenix.

“Why would you trust the Post Office?” Janet asked.

Former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton, who was made bankrupt after he refused to pay shortfalls at his Post Office, agrees.

“They’ve asked to engage with me, but trust is something they have to earn, sadly.”

Ian Henderson was part of the Second Sight forensic investigator team brought in by the Post Office in 2012 to look into issues with Horizon, then sacked three years later after they began probing into potential miscarriages of justice. Mr Henderson believes history could be repeating itself.

He said: “It sounds as if Post Office is up to its old tricks, trying to control the information flow, and stop the [Project Phoenix] investigators from doing their job.”

Does he believe that it amounts to a cover-up?

“Yes, I do," he said.

"They don’t want the truth to come out…Their conduct is absolutely appalling. Bully-boy tactics against weak, defenceless people. And they are still working for the Post Office.”

What sub-postmasters want to see from the investigation is clear: justice.

"[The investigators] are still in position. They're under investigation and they're still being paid a salary. For sub-postmasters, we were suspended without pay, pending investigation. The same should happen to them," said Janet.

For Alison and Allison, they believe their investigators should face criminal justice proceedings.

Alison Hall said: “They need to go on trial. For what they’ve done to us, they need to go on trial…we need to get them in the witness box and ask, 'why did you do it?'"

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We apologise unreservedly for the hurt that was caused to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal. Post Office today is working hard to improve our policies and culture to rebuild trust with postmasters. Whenever there are allegations of wrongdoing, the business acts fairly and in line with proper internal and external processes.”

Mr Bradshaw and Mr Knight declined to comment.

The Metropolitan Police said it cannot comment on Project Phoenix.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said:

“We expect the Post Office to take action on any allegations of wrongdoing, and receive regular updates from them on the work they are doing to investigate this important issue.

“We understand that many will struggle to trust the Post Office to undertake a fair investigation, and this is why it is a priority that the Post Office must continue to change its culture and effectiveness to build respect and trust with its postmasters and its customers.”

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