Operation Olympos

The Post Office Horizon scandal is regarded as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history. It involved the wrongful prosecution of more than 700 sub-postmasters (SPMs) between 2001 and 2017.

Operation Olympos started in January 2020, after concerns raised about the conduct of:

• the Post Office Limited (POL)
• Fujitsu Services Ltd (FSL), who developed and installed the Horizon software

It is alleged that the Post Office knowingly used discrepancies recorded on the Horizon system to take action against SPMs. Those SPMs were accused of theft and false accounting.

Between 2000 and 2017, POL initiated 900 private prosecutions, which resulted in over 700 convictions. The Horizon shortfalls impacted 3,500 SPMs. Of these, 736 were prosecuted. Others faced a combination of civil claims and termination of contracts.

To date, 3,000 SPMs have enrolled in one of three ongoing government-backed compensation schemes.

This is a joint national policing investigation between the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Metropolitan Police Service, with involvement from all UK police forces.