Keith Brown MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Clackmannanshire & Dunblane constituency, has welcomed the ministerial statement given to the Scottish Parliament by the Lord Advocate this afternoon regarding the Post Office Horizon scandal.

During questions on the statement, Keith asked the Lord Advocate whether, in addition to liability for any compensation scheme, the UK Government and the Post Office Ltd might face criminal proceedings for the deception that led to “the imprisonment, traumatisation and even suicide of some of the victims”.

Speaking afterwards, Keith Brown said:

“As the Lord Advocate herself said, both the Post Office and the UK Government continued to support the Horizon system during the 2013 to 2015 period, and beyond with ‘worrying levels of deliberate and sustained concealment and deception … during this period’.

“The Scottish Government’s introduction this week of a Bill to automatically exonerate those Sub-Postmasters wrongly convicted in Scotland is important and welcome and I raised the question today as to whether – given that the concealment was both ‘deliberate and sustained’ and that it can reasonably be said to have led to the imprisonment, traumatisation and even suicide of some of those who have been victims of this disgraceful deception, could there be criminal proceedings against those who were responsible for that deception?

“The Lord Advocate said that until she receives the outcome of the public inquiry she is not in a position to comment on the specific questions of either criminal or civil liability at the moment.  I understand that but I will certainly continue to try and ensure that those responsible for this disgraceful episode are made to answer for the cover ups and that their victims can receive justice.