Cole-Hamilton responds to Horizon statement

Responding to the Lord Advocate’s statement on the Horizon IT prosecutions, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“This has been one of the most appalling miscarriages of justice in our national story. Lives and livelihoods have been ruined. Former Post Office workers across all four nations are now, rightly, pursuing the justice that they have been denied for so long.

“It’s clear from the Lord Advocate’s statement that the Crown Office, like members of the public, the press and government officials, were repeatedly lied to as part of an industrial scale deception.

“The Lord Advocate confirmed that there will be consideration of any criminality by the Post Office, after the conclusion of the public inquiry, if complaints are made to Police Scotland.

“So, can I ask the Lord Advocate whether this consideration would apply solely to the Post Office as an agency as a whole, or whether it could apply to specific individuals within that agency and whether Police Scotland can act on the findings of the inquiry directly or if it would need a third party complaint to begin legal proceedings in Scotland.”