Home / Corporate Crime / Criminal procedure and evidence / Private prosecutions

Legal News

Post Office Horizon prosecutions—lessons to be learned for private prosecutors

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Published on: 23 January 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Table of contents

The Post Office Horizon scandal is an example of private prosecutions gone wrong. How did this happen?
Why didn't the Crown Prosecution Service prosecute these offences or take over these private prosecutions? Could this have happened if the prosecutions were brought by a public prosecutor?
What will be the likely impact of the Horizon scandal for both the Post Office and private prosecutors generally?
What lessons should private prosecutors learn from this?
What are the options available to secure the conclusion of so many related criminal appeals?

Article summary

Corporate Crime analysis: Niall Hearty, partner at Rahman Ravelli, considers how the Post Office Horizon scandal happened and its impact on private prosecutors.

Popular documents

Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings—statements in documents

Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings—statements in documentsStatements in business and other documentsSection 117 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) governs the admissibility of:•business records, and•documents prepared for pending or contemplated criminal proceedings

Witness intimidation

Witness intimidationIntimidation of witnesses and jurorsIntimidation of witnesses and/or jurors is an offence under section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994). An offence is committed where a defendant:•does an act which intimidates, and is intended to intimidate,

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companies

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companiesWhy does it matter?A company that is a member of a group and has incurred any of the types of losses available for surrender by way of group relief may, without any further rules, have more than one way in which to use the loss. There are a

What is the difference between an appeal and a review?

What is the difference between an appeal and a review?What is an appeal?An appeal in insolvency proceedings is no different to an appeal in normal litigation. An appeal will be allowed only if the appeal court is satisfied that the decision of the lower court was 'wrong' or 'unjust because of a