Former Post Office employee Gareth Jenkins, who was responsible for the development and defense of the Horizon IT system, is now under investigation for perjury in relation to the Post Office scandal. Jenkins was a key witness in court, defending the system against accusations that it was the cause of sub-postmasters’ financial losses. However, his testimony has come under scrutiny and he is now facing potential legal consequences.
Jenkins was scheduled to give evidence at the public inquiry for four days, one more than former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells. In contrast to other former employees who have expressed remorse and apologies for the harm caused by the Horizon system, Jenkins chose to defend it. He disputed the High Court’s conclusion that the system was “not at all robust” and maintained that it had operated effectively.
During his testimony, Jenkins did apologize to two former sub-postmasters, Seema Misra and Noel Thomas, who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned. Jenkins’ extensive knowledge of the Horizon system led the Post Office to rely heavily on his advice as complaints and concerns regarding the system’s accuracy and reliability arose. Jenkins approached each case as if it were his “day job,” examining the specific details and looking for any potential bugs or errors.
However, Jenkins claims that he was initially unaware of any wider issues with the system, as it was not part of his job responsibilities. He also admits that he did not always disclose information about other faults and defects in the Post Office network during court proceedings. When questioned about this by inquiry counsel Jason Beer KC, Jenkins stated that he did not see the relevance of this information in the cases at hand.
Jenkins also maintains that he was never explicitly informed of the special responsibilities that come with being an expert witness, including legal disclosure obligations. He has accused the Post Office legal teams of “putting words into his mouth.” This lack of awareness and failure to disclose crucial information ultimately led to the halting of Horizon prosecutions, but unfortunately not before many sub-postmasters had already been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.
In 2013, the Post Office board commissioned legal advice which was not revealed until five years later. This advice concluded that Jenkins’ evidence was unreliable and potentially put the organization in breach of its duties as a prosecutor. For Misra, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison based in part on Jenkins’ testimony, it took 11 years for her conviction to be overturned. In her own words, Jenkins “protected the brand” at the expense of justice for innocent sub-postmasters.