Update on the Solicitors Regulation Authority investigation on the Post Office Horizon IT scandal

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https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/press/ ... ce-mar-26/

Between 2000 – 2015, subpostmasters were removed from their branches, wrongly prosecuted or threatened with legal action for money outstanding from a faulty accounting system, 'Horizon'. From wrongful convictions through to financial ruin and devastating personal consequences, the miscarriages of justice in this case have severely impacted the lives of hundreds of subpostmasters.

Jonathan Peddie, SRA Interim Executive Director – Legal said: 'This was one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in British history, with devastating impacts on the lives of hundreds of people.

'Our largest ever investigation, the range of issues are complex, but the fundamentals are simple. Solicitors must meet high professional standards. This includes acting independently, with integrity, and upholding the rule of law and proper administration of justice.

'Those who have failed to do so should expect serious consequences. We will take action to protect the public and maintain trust in the profession.

'We are progressing our investigations as swiftly as possible. It is vital we follow due process and get this right. We owe that to everyone impacted by this scandal, as well as the wider public.'

Issues we are investigating
We are here to protect the public. Our rules set out that solicitors must work to high professional and ethical standards. This includes acting with integrity and in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the profession.

As officers of the court, solicitors should never let interests, such as the outcome for their client, undermine the collective trust that the public are rightly entitled to place in the profession.

We have more than 20 live investigations into solicitors and law firms linked to this scandal, including those who were working on behalf of the Post Office/Royal Mail Group.

We have been looking at a wide range of issues, including serious allegations of solicitors acting with a lack of integrity. Themes emerging include:

solicitors' management and supervision of cases; and the strategy and conduct of prosecutions and of litigation (including group litigation - Mr Bates vs The Post Office);
duties relating to expert witnesses;
disclosure obligations and improper application of privilege to protect communications from disclosure;
issues relating to the operation of the Post Office Complaint Review and Mediation Scheme, including overcharging of claimants, use of non-disclosure-agreements and labelling of correspondence; and
solicitor engagement and co-operation with the Public Inquiry.
 This is not an exhaustive list.   

Taking action – progressing our investigations
We will take enforcement action where we find evidence that solicitors have broken our rules and behaved unethically.   

We have made significant progress on our investigations. We will act as swiftly as we can. We will be in the best position to do so effectively, when we have access to – and a comprehensive understanding of – all the relevant evidence.   

The scale of the issues and the documentation we are dealing with is unprecedented. So far, our investigation has involved scrutinising tens-of-thousands of pages of information and evidence.

We have gathered evidence through a range of means, including calling in evidence under our own powers, obtaining court orders requiring the Post Office to provide us with relevant documents and seeking and obtaining relevant witness evidence in support of cases.

We are liaising on a regular basis with the Bar Standards Board and Metropolitan Police and are also in regular contact with the Inquiry and Legal Services Board. This will help ensure co-ordination and consistency.

Timing of enforcement action
It is essential we follow due process. There are two key factors that will impact the timing of enforcement action in the cases we are investigating:  

The Public Inquiry final report – we have already reviewed information shared through the Inquiry hearing. A date is still to be confirmed for the publication of the Inquiry's final report. The Inquiry has a statutory right to make findings of facts, and it is highly likely that findings in the report will be relevant to cases we are investigating.

In most of our cases if we were to move to enforcement action ahead of the Inquiry's final report, we would risk not only undermining the Inquiry process, but also our own cases. It could open us to significant challenge and put at risk a fair and successful outcome. This would not be in the public interest.   

Potential criminal investigations – some of the conduct which has come to light is of interest to the police. It would usually not be appropriate for us to begin enforcement action where this could prejudice a pending prosecution. Regulators will often suspend action where criminal prosecutions are underway or anticipated in order to ensure that the integrity of the evidence in criminal proceedings is maintained.

The Police have said they will need to assess the final Inquiry report before any final charging decisions are made. Where we are able to proceed with cases without risk of interfering with ongoing police investigations, we will do so.

Neither the fact that we await the Inquiry's final report, nor potential criminal investigations, has prevented us from progressing our investigations into solicitor misconduct. Our approach has been to review the evidence in order to identify regulatory concerns in relation to individuals or firms. We have a large team working full-time on this with dedicated legal support.

The cases we are investigating fall into two categories: 'Horizon scandal cases' and 'post-scandal cases.'  

1. Horizon scandal cases
The majority of our cases are 'Horizon scandal cases'. These cases go to the heart of the issues and allegations which resulted in the devastating impacts on subpostmasters through wrongful convictions. These cases involve conduct relating directly to the facts in issue at the Inquiry.

We continue to prepare to commence enforcement action in these cases when it is appropriate to do so. As set out above, that is subject to the timing of the publication of the Inquiry's final report, in addition to establishing which cases may or are likely to result in criminal prosecution.   

2. Post-scandal cases
These are cases that have been opened more recently. Fewer in number, they relate to conduct that occurred after the prosecution of subpostmasters, the emergence of the scandal and the announcement of the Inquiry.   

These cases do not touch directly on the issues the Inquiry is addressing, and our assessment is that they are also not likely to be affected by criminal investigation.   

We anticipate being able to take enforcement action more swiftly in these cases.   

Our powers  
We have a range of powers to take action against solicitors and firms to protect the public and act as a deterrent. This includes being able to fine solicitors and traditional law firms up to £25,000 and put controls on how they practise. In cases of serious misconduct where our view is that a more significant sanction is needed, we will take cases to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. It has the power to issue unlimited fines and stop solicitors from practising – either for a limited period (a suspension) or indefinitely (striking off).