The Post Office public inquiry has heard that a former Fujitsu IT expert’s lack of understanding of the responsibilities of an expert witness led to the wrongful convictions and imprisonment of subpostmasters for financial crimes. Gareth Jenkins, who worked as an IT expert for the Post Office, admitted that he did not comprehend his duties until 2020, even though he had been involved in 15 prosecutions of subpostmasters up until 2013.
Jenkins, a mathematics graduate from Cambridge University, revealed during the inquiry that he focused too narrowly on specific cases and failed to address known software problems within the Horizon system used by the Post Office. He also admitted to being influenced by Post Office lawyers to change his statements. Despite being advised to no longer act as an expert witness due to misleading evidence, Jenkins continued to work on cases until his lack of understanding was brought to light.
During his testimony at the inquiry, Jenkins acknowledged that he never received guidance on his responsibilities as an expert witness and simply believed he needed to provide truthful answers to questions asked. He admitted to not realizing that he was obligated to disclose information that may impact his opinion or volunteer information about system defects unless specifically asked.
The inquiry also heard that Jenkins was influenced by Post Office lawyers who suggested changes to his statements, which he accepted without question. His naivety and lack of understanding of his duties as an expert witness resulted in innocent individuals, such as Noel Thomas and Seema Misra, being wrongly convicted and imprisoned. The scandal, first revealed by Computer Weekly in 2009, is considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.