Humza Yousaf failed to hold a single meeting on the Post Office scandal during his three years as SNP justice secretary, according to analysis of ministerial engagements published by the Scottish Government.
In Scotland, it was the Crown Office who prosecuted postmasters in relation to the Horizon scandal – yet the now-First Minister didn’t discuss the issue once as justice secretary, despite the convictions being referred for review in England and Wales during his tenure.
The analysis, by the Scottish Conservatives, also reveals that Humza Yousaf did not speak to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, who are currently in the process of reviewing convictions associated with this scandal, even though the commission wrote to victims back in 2020.
Shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay has accused the First Minister of “shameful inertia” as the scandal unfolded.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay MSP said: “Humza Yousaf is now demanding action yet, according to his published ministerial meetings, he didn’t even bother to hold a single meeting on the Post Office scandal during three years as SNP justice secretary.
“It was during his tenure that the scale of the Horizon problem emerged, with the first convictions being referred for review in England and Wales.
“And with the Crown Office responsible for all prosecutions in Scotland, Post Office workers might wonder why the then justice secretary apparently didn’t show any interest in their plight.
“Humza Yousaf has some nerve trying to make capital out of this obscene miscarriage of justice when he should be explaining his own shameful inertia.”
Notes
Humza Yousaf did not meet to discuss the scandal of wrongfully convicted postmasters once during his tenure as Justice Secretary. Between July 2018 and April 2021, despite meeting the Crown Office numerous times, the Scottish Government’s ministerial engagements publications state that none of these meetings were on the subject of the Post Office convictions scandal. There is also no meeting held with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission about the scandal either. (Various Scottish Government ministerial engagements, Accessed 8 January 2024, link).
Convictions relating to the Post Office scandal were first referred to a review in March 2020 – when Humza Yousaf was Justice Secretary. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is responsible for review criminal convictions in England & Wales, confirmed in March 2020: ‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission has so far decided to refer for appeal the convictions of 39 Post Office applicants.’ This was followed up by further referrals in subsequent months. (Criminal Cases Review Commission, 26 March 2020, link).
The Crown Office was responsible for prosecuting postmasters in Scotland, whilst the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission wrote to those it thought were affected by the scandal in 2020 – also when Humza Yousaf was Justice Secretary. The Crown Office are solely responsible for convictions in Scotland, so they would have been responsible for all prosecutions of postmasters in the jurisdiction. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission wrote to 73 potential victims of miscarriage of justice regarding the Post Office scandal back in 2020. (BBC News, 8 January 2024, link).
The Scottish Government has the power to pardon offences which were prosecuted in Scotland and previously proposed pardoning those accused of witchcraft offences. The Historic Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards)(Scotland) Act 2018 was used to pardon those convicted of historic sexual offences and in March 2022 Nicola Sturgeon suggesting using legislation to pardon witches, telling Holyrood: ‘The pardon [of those convicted under the Witchcraft Act 1563] that the petition calls for would require the Parliament to legislate and, in future, it may choose to do so. In the meantime, the petition also calls for an apology—after all, those accusations and executions were instigated and perpetrated by the state. Therefore, today, on international women’s day, as First Minister on behalf of the Scottish Government, I am choosing to acknowledge that egregious historic injustice and to extend a formal posthumous apology to all those who were accused, convicted, vilified or executed under the Witchcraft Act 1563.’ (Official report, 8 March 2022, link).