'We're all sorry' over miscarriages of justice - Mulholland

The former head of Scotland’s prosecution service has said “we’re all sorry” over miscarriages of justice in relation to the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Lord Mulholland was lord advocate when the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) became aware of potential problems with the software.

He told BBC Scotland News “any miscarriage of justice is a bad thing” when asked about postmasters being convicted due to faults with the Fujitsu-designed system.

COPFS said there was no record of Lord Mulholland taking any decisions in relation to cases that involved Horizon evidence.

More than 900 sub-postmasters across the UK were prosecuted for crimes such as theft because of incorrect information from the software.

The scandal has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in the UK in recent times.

Lord Mulholland served as lord advocate between 2011 and 2016.

BBC News revealed the Crown Office was made aware of potential problems with Horizon in 2013, but prosecutors did not officially stop pursuing cases until 2015.

In England the Post Office prosecuted its own cases but in Scotland COPFS had sole responsibility for taking people to court.

The last prosecution in Scotland took place in 2014.

BBC News approached Lord Mulholland - who is now a judge - on Thursday, after he had given evidence at the Sheku Bayoh public inquiry in Edinburgh.

When asked whether he had anything to say to the victims, he said: “Any miscarriage of justice is a bad thing so if you were subject to a miscarriage of justice then we’re all sorry about it, but that’s all I’ve got to say.”

Current Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC previously apologised for the way victims were treated by the justice system

There were up to 60 prosecutions in Scotland between 1999 and 2015 involving Horizon evidence.

A total of 19 people have asked for their convictions to be overturned.

Six have been cleared so far.

The Scottish government is hopeful of bringing forward legislation to clear those wrongly prosecuted before the summer.

Some of the victims’ solicitors have questioned why their previously convicted clients were not told by the Crown Office about concerns with the computer system in 2015.

Lord Mulholland said BBC News “would have to ask the Crown Office about that.”

Crown Office was 'repeatedly misled'

The current Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, has previously apologised for the way those who were wrongly convicted were “failed by trusted institutions and the criminal justice system”.

She said the COPFS was “repeatedly” misled by the Post Office.

The Crown Office has said it is determined to ensure that all miscarriages of justice resulting from unreliable Horizon evidence are identified and overturned.

A spokesperson said: “It was not until the decisions by the courts in England and Wales in 2019 and 2021 that the full extent of the bugs and errors in Horizon became known. Until that point, Post Office maintained that the Horizon system was reliable and safe.”

The Crown Office said it was 'repeatedly misled' by the Post Office

They added: “The Post Office told COPFS in 2013 that its external lawyers had reviewed all potentially impacted Scottish cases and had found no issues.

“As at 2015 COPFS was not provided with further evidence which was promised by Post Office to demonstrate that Horizon was as robust as they suggested. COPFS therefore decided to no longer rely on Horizon until such time as that further evidence was provided by Post Office.”

In relation to the role of Lord Mulholland as former head of the service, the spokesperson said:

"In her statement to the Scottish Parliament in January, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC confirmed that there is no record of Lord Mulholland taking any decisions in relation to cases that involved Horizon evidence."

A Post Office spokesperson previously said: “We are deeply sorry for past wrongs and are doing all we can to put these right, including extensive work to support overturning wrongful convictions.

"This work includes assisting the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”