THE exposure of the Horizon scandal has rightly resulted in those convicted now being exonerated and provided access to compensation.
However, there is one victim of this scandal that has been ignored – the Scottish justice system.
Andrew Tickell’s informative articles in The National (April 14, May 5 and May 26) illustrated that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service had doubts about the reliability of the Horizon software system on which prosecutions were based back in 2013. Prosecutions ceased because of these doubts.
READ MORE: MSPs pass law to exonerate wrongly convicted sub-postmasters in Horizon scandal
However, the Post Office, owned by the UK Government, managed within the Department of Business and Trade and with its own UK Government minister, sent representatives who (according to Tickell) knowingly lied and reassured the Crown Office that prosecutions should continue.
This, to my mind, is perversion of the course of justice at its most serious level.
Presumably the Scottish police are investigating, and presumably we can expect those who knowingly triggered the prosecution of the innocent to be in turn prosecuted themselves. If not, why not?
READ MORE: BBC 'shamefully' omits SNP from party leader General Election profiles
Can it be that our “independent” prosecution service in Scotland (a separate jurisdiction protected in the Treaty of Union) can be manipulated if the UK state wishes that to happen?
So far, all we have heard from the Crown Office is that the Post Office has been “stripped” of its specialist crime reporting status in Scotland. Hardly a sanction commensurate with the grievous wrong that has been done. And the Post Office is just one of more than 50 with such powers. How much more mischief are the others creating in Scotland, either through triggering unjustified prosecutions or preventing justifiable prosecutions from taking place?
Jenny Pearson’s perceptive letter (April 4) asked why there had been so little coverage of this in the media. With attention now concentrating on the forthcoming election, perhaps the guilty hope that these issues will be buried and forgotten.
Kerr Walker
Alford
TODAY marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the largest seaborne operation that began the liberation of France and the rest of Western Europe. Had it not been for the actions of a man born in Dalkeith, the outcome of this could all have been so very different.
Chief meteorological adviser Group Captain James Martin Stagg fought ferociously to persuade the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, to change the date of the Allied invasion from June 5 to the following day.
READ MORE: 'My Scottish grandfather didn’t dodge D-Day as Tory MP allegedly said'
Stagg not only predicted a storm on that day, which would have had a major impact on the landings, but made the vital forecast that the weather would break for long enough the following day to allow Operation Overlord to go ahead.
In gathering the data that helped inform his decision, some of this came from a little-known RAF squadron operating on Tiree. It was the mission of 518 Squadron to fly out over the Atlantic in specially equipped bombers and record the weather conditions.
If the D-Day landings had not taken place on June 6 they would have been delayed for two weeks, and on that day the Channel was again hit by a large storm, which meteorologists would have struggled to forecast.
Stagg was proved right, and the D-Day invasion went ahead on June 6, beginning the liberation of German-occupied France, and later Europe, from Nazi control.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
WE hear the Liberal Democrats election bandwagon is calling for “free personal care”, a call that needs serious consideration given we have an ageing population.
Credible as this proposal sounds, perhaps LibDem leader Sir Ed Davey may want to take a trip to Scotland and see policies on free personal care operating.
The Scottish Parliament with devolved powers introduced free personal care in 2002 for all over 65 years of age, and in 2019 the policy was extended to include all who require personal care regardless of age.
READ MORE: LibDem leader Ed Davey fined for speeding on motorway
In addition to free personal care in Scotland, the SNP in government – again with devolved powers – increased Carer’s Allowance to that of basic Jobseeker’s Allowance, but again Scotland did not stop there and introduced a twice-yearly Carer’s Allowance Supplement giving carers an extra £288.60 twice a year.
Since the introduction in 2002 of free personal care in Scotland we have heard no moves from Westminster to follow suit, or to replicate the game-changing Scottish Child Payment of £26.70 per week for all eligible children, which has lifted 100,000 children out of poverty in Scotland.
Perhaps the Westminster-based parties should expand their horizon and take a look at what Scotland’s devolved government has achieved when it comes to tackling the big issues we may all have to depend on.
Catriona C Clark
Falkirk
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