Terms of reference
Operation Olympos is investigating perjury and perverting the course of justice (PCTOJ) offences in relation to the prosecutions.
These prosecutions and the sub-postmasters (SPMs) affected span all forces. There are potential suspects across the country, so there is a clear national impact.
Operation Olympos is not a reinvestigation of these wrongful prosecutions. While the SPMs are victims of tainted or missing evidence, the offences under investigation are against the State.
Scope
The action taken against SPMs provides part of the evidence for PTCOJ. However, it is not necessary to review every case.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reviewed and agreed this strategy. CPS has deemed that it:
- meets the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA)
- meets evidential requirements
- is focused and proportionate
This will require continuous scrutiny to prevent the scope becoming too large and less focused.
Ongoing victim and stakeholder engagement must ensure that:
- the investigative strategy is clearly communicated
- all parties are aware of the purpose and parameters of the investigation
From a police perspective, this means that all forces are contributing to the investigation. As opposed to investigating crimes which are linked to them geographically, which is not the strategy.
Suspects
At this time any suspects are likely to fall broadly into the following groups:
- Post office investigators
- Lawyers and Prosecutors – both internal (POL) and external – civil and criminal lawyers retained by POL
- POL senior management
- Fujitsu technical and prosecution support staff
This number may vary depending on future material gathered and the conclusion of the public inquiry.