The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is ‘uncharted territory’ for corporate manslaughter, according to a high-profile crime lawyer, and prosecutions for suicides could take years to prove.
The first of two parts of the latest report was published earlier this week (8 July), with reports that the consequences of the Horizon IT issues may have caused at least 13 suicides over the years.
The Met Police has previously stated it is not ruling out corporate manslaughter charges against the Post Office.
In response to the new report’s release, Craig MacKenzie (left), head of the high profile and private crime division at national law firm, Forbes Solicitors, said: “Although suicides are being formally linked to the Horizon IT scandal, it could still be difficult - though not impossible - to make corporate manslaughter charges stick.
“Prosecutors would need to prove how the Post Office’s senior leadership ran operations in a way that constituted a gross breach of its duty of care, and for such a breach to be a substantial cause of death. From a legal standpoint, this is uncharted territory.”
MacKenzie added that, with no real benchmark against which to judge the cases, finding a link between the cause and effect of the deaths would be challenging.
“Traditionally, corporate manslaughter prosecutions have been limited to health and safety failings, which have led to accidents and fatalities. In the Post Office Horizon case, we’d be looking at a chillingly novel application of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – proving psychological trauma and institutional negligence as causes of suicide.
“Establishing a link between the actions of Post Office leadership and people taking their own lives will likely hinge on the ability to evidence cover ups and wilful blindness.”
“Suicide, tragically, involves a confluence of personal and psychological factors. Establishing a link between the actions of Post Office leadership and people taking their own lives will likely hinge on the ability to evidence cover ups and wilful blindness.
“If evidence shows that senior leaders repeatedly failed to properly investigate and address the Horizon system concerns raised by those people who committed suicide, it’s conceivable that deaths resulted from serious and systemic management failures.
MacKenzie concluded that the second part of the report - which will focus on accountability - may hold evidence that’s vital to a successful prosecution for corporate manslaughter.
However, this may not be published until next year and it could still take many years after this to bring and conclude a successful prosecution, he said.
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