Post Office IT scandal: 'I was shocked' Hull subpostmaster was charged investigator tells inquiry

Janet Skinner was handed a nine-month jail sentence in 2007 over money missing from the branch she ran in North Bransholme.

The mother-of-two was blamed for a £59,000 shortfall in the accounts which was actually down to problems with its IT system. She is one of more than 700 sub- postmasters wrongly convicted in Britain's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Yesterday Diane Matthews, investigator in the case, told a public inquiry she was “shocked” that Ms Skinner was to be charged with theft (a plea bargain later saw the charge become one of false accounting). She said: “I just didn’t think I could get to the bottom of who had done what in the office. I couldn’t prove or disprove Ms Skinner had or hadn’t; the same with some of the witnesses. One the balance of probabilities I couldn’t determine who had done what.”

Ms Matthews, who has no legal training, said she raised the issue with the lawyer in the case, adding: “I couldn’t point the finger definitely at one person. There seemed to be a lot of people there and there was a lot of people who had different reasons and opportunities.

Janet Skinner was wrongly jailed in 2007 for nine months over a missing £59,000 from her Post Office branch. She has now cleared her name, with her conviction being described by senior judges as an "affront to justice". Picture: Tony Johnson

"Miss Skinner was adamant that she hadn’t stolen it. I was shocked that the theft charge was there.”

Pressed by lead counsel for the inquiry Jason Beer KC, that it was “monstruosly unfair” that Miss Skinner had been sent to prison leaving behind her two teenage children, Ms Matthews said it was “not a nice feeling”, adding: “I’m sorry it happened.”

Ms Matthews was also asked whether material regarding a possible prosecution against a witness in the case who was also accused of theft, which she investigated, was disclosed to Miss Skinner’s legal team. She said: “I wouldn’t know – that should have been done by the prosecution office or criminal law team.” Mr Beer told the hearing: “As far as we can tell there was no disclosure of the information at or before the point of committal.”

The hearing also heard how the Post Office altered a witness statement from an expert at Fujitsu to remove the possibility that a system failure was to blame for a subpostmaster's losses, to prevent being “embarrassed” in court.

Noel Thomas, now 76, from Gaerwen on Anglesey, was sent to prison for false accounting in 2006, but had his conviction quashed two years ago. He had insisted the IT system was responsible.

The inquiry heard that the Fujitusu expert suggested three possible reasons for why “zero value transactions” were being generated, including “some sort of system failure” which were “normal occurrences”. A Post Office manager wrote on a draft it was a "really poor choice of words” and “may well support the postmasters claim that the system is to blame for the losses!" An email added it was important to "get it right" and "ensure we are not embarrassed at court".

Mr Beer said in the final statement the reference to system failure had “evaporated” and the expert’s “unwillingness to sign a statement that says a system was operating at all times properly had been overcome”. The hearing continues.