Post Office: No date yet for inquiry report
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has made “significant progress” with its investigations into the Post Office scandal – but still cannot say when disciplinary action may start.
It said cases that related to conduct that occurred since the Horizon scandal emerged would likely progress more quickly than those arising from the subpostmaster prosecutions.
These cover issues relating to the operation of the Post Office complaint review and mediation scheme, including overcharging claimants, the use of non-disclosure-agreements, and labelling of correspondence – as well as engagement and co-operation with the public inquiry.
In an update published today, the regulator said it had more than 20 live investigations into solicitors and law firms linked to the scandal.
Themes coming out of the scandal itself included solicitors’ management and supervision of cases, and the strategy and conduct of prosecutions and of civil litigation; duties relating to expert witnesses; and disclosure obligations and improper application of privilege to protect communications from disclosure.
“We have made significant progress on our investigations,” the update said. “We will act as swiftly as we can. We will be in the best position to do so effectively, when we have access to – and a comprehensive understanding of – all the relevant evidence.
“The scale of the issues and the documentation we are dealing with is unprecedented. So far, our investigation has involved scrutinising tens of thousands of pages of information and evidence.
“We have gathered evidence through a range of means, including calling in evidence under our own powers, obtaining court orders requiring the Post Office to provide us with relevant documents, and seeking and obtaining relevant witness evidence in support of cases.”
The public inquiry has a statutory right to make findings of fact and the SRA said it was “highly likely” that these would be relevant to its investigations. But the timing of the inquiry’s final report is not yet known.
“In most of our cases if we were to move to enforcement action ahead of the inquiry’s final report, we would risk not only undermining the inquiry process, but also our own cases.
“It could open us to significant challenge and put at risk a fair and successful outcome. This would not be in the public interest.”
The police have similarly said they will need to assess the final report before making any charging decisions.
The SRA said regulators often suspended action where criminal prosecutions were underway or anticipated “in order to ensure that the integrity of the evidence in criminal proceedings is maintained”.
It noted that the post-scandal cases were unlikely to be affected by criminal investigation, so “we anticipate being able to take enforcement action more swiftly in these cases”.
Jonathan Peddie, the SRA’s interim executive director for legal, said: “This is our largest ever investigation. The range of issues are complex but the fundamentals are simple: solicitors must meet high professional standards. This includes acting independently, with integrity, and upholding the rule of law and proper administration of justice.
“Those who have failed to do so should expect serious consequences. We will take action to protect the public and maintain trust in the profession.
“We are progressing our investigations as swiftly as possible. It is vital we follow due process and get this right. We owe that to everyone impacted by this scandal, as well as the wider public.”
The SRA said it was also liaising regularly with the Bar Standards Board and Metropolitan Police, and was also in regular contact with both the inquiry and the Legal Services Board. “This will help ensure co-ordination and consistency.”
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