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Part of the problem is that for historical reasons the post office can charge and prosecute people without the police needing to investigate. The post office w
by ed_elliott_asc 3y ago
Part of the problem is that for historical reasons the post office can charge and prosecute people without the police needing to investigate.
The post office was a part of the country /government (I’m not sure what the right term is tbh) and it was privatised but kept those powers.
- gpderetta 3y agoAs far as I know, technically anybody [with deep enough pockets] can initiate private prosecution in the UK.
- gnfargbl 3y agoThey can, but the CPS can always choose to take over the case -- and they are allowed to take over with the express intent of dropping the prosecution. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/private-prosecutions https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/private-prosecutions
- zarzavat 3y agoHopefully this case will be the final nail in the coffin of private prosecutions. We don't need such things in the modern world.
- graemep 3y agoIn addition there were some cases prosecuted by the CPS: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/09/cps-keir-starmer-role-post-office-wrongful-convictions/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/09/cps-keir-starmer...
- neilwilson 3y agoThe Post Office remains part of the government. It was Royal Mail that was privatised. That a public corporation has persecuted these individuals makes it doubly worse. At any point the government minister in charge of the Post Office could have yanked chains and stopped it.