Police leading the criminal investigation into the Post Office Horizon scandal, which involved major tech vendor Fujitsu, have warned that charging decisions could be delayed by up to five years unless the inquiry team receives an urgent injection of sustained funding
The alert was issued by Operation Olympos, the national police investigation tasked with delivering justice for the victims and families affected by the scandal, following a progress briefing with victims. Detectives are currently reviewing eight million documents to establish exactly what happened and determine the roles individual suspects may have played.
The threshold for bringing criminal charges remains high, requiring police to ensure that evidence presented to the Crown Prosecution Service has the best possible chance of meeting the necessary legal standards.
Commander Stephen Clayman, the national lead for Operation Olympos, stressed the urgency of the situation given that many victims have been living with the impact of the scandal for 24 years, while others have already passed away.
"Put simply, we do not have the luxury of time and must provide answers as soon as possible to those who so desperately deserve them," Clayman said. "The realities, however, are that our investigation remains hugely complex."
According to the latest update, the investigation has made progress by conducting seven additional suspect interviews under caution this year, bringing the total to 13 out of 53 individuals currently under investigation. Police are also working with prosecutors through the submission of several files for Early Investigative Advice to help build cases effectively.
However, the team faces severe resource constraints at a time when police forces are already stretched. To meet the current timeline of submitting files for charging decisions in late 2027 or early 2028, the investigation team needs to nearly double in size from 111 to 210 personnel.
While the inquiry recently received a Home Office Special Grant of £2.8 million, additional resources are required to meet a projected budget of up to £19.3 million for the 2026/27 financial year and beyond. Without this financial backing, police warned that the timeline for potential prosecutions will inevitably be delayed.
"We recently received a Home Office Special Grant of £2.8m which goes some way to supporting our costs, but the reality is that we urgently need additional and sustained funding," Clayman added. "Dedication, meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering focus on the goal of delivering justice remains at the heart of the team, but we must have the appropriate resources in place to support them."
In March Accenture won a deal to support the non-Fujitsu and Horizon technology at the Post Office and in May was subsequently selected to take over the operation of the Fujitsu Horizon technology.