Prosecutions of SPM's by the Post Office between 2000 and 2014
Dear Attorney General's Office,I made a FOI request of yourselves in Oct 2021 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p... and whilst not supplying a ref. no. or answer you did acknowledge the question and point me in other directions for which I am still grateful.In broad terms the FOI related to knowledge,supervision or oversight of the Post Office prosecuting hundreds of SPMs within the described period.In 2013- so within ths scope of my 2021 Inquiry the CCRC were asking questions about POL diverting people away from "The Courts" to its compensation scheme(Which it had control of) and to ask yourselves if there was a potential problem regarding miscarriages of justice with Post Office prosecutions(Gareth Jenkins used by POL as an Independant expert witness).Can you supply documents relating to these lines of Inquiry,what questions were asked,by whom and what guidance or activity was recommended by yourselves.
Yours faithfully,
john o'sullivan
Thank you for contacting the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
Please note the Attorney General provides legal advice to the government
and is unable to give legal advice, assistance or support to individuals.
The Attorney General does not have investigatory powers.
We strive to answer all correspondence that falls within the remit of the
AGO within 20 days. However, we are unable to reply to matters that do not
fall within the responsibility of the department.
Please note that, although the Attorney General superintends the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and Government
Legal Department (GLD), these departments are operationally independent
and the Attorney General’s Office is unable to intervene in individual
cases or comment on any active proceedings.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Referrals
If you have contacted our office regarding a sentence you feel is too low,
please ensure you have provided us with all the information we require.
Full details can be found at the following link:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/ask-crown-court-sente...
If you are the victim in the case in question, or a close family member of
the victim, you can expect to be informed of the outcome of your referral.
Due to the large number of referrals we receive, we unfortunately cannot
guarantee a response to referrals made by those without such a connection
to the case.
Other Matters
If your correspondence is in relation to:
Coronavirus / COVID-19 issues – please refer to the regularly updated
guidance at [2]https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) matters or complaints – please contact the
CPS: [3]https://www.cps.gov.uk/ or refer to the CPS complaints procedure:
[4]https://www.cps.gov.uk/feedback-and-comp...
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) matters or complaints – please contact the SFO:
[5]https://www.sfo.gov.uk/ or refer to the SFO complaints procedure:
[6]https://www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/guid...
Government Legal Department (GLD) matters or complaints – please contact
the GLD:
[7]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
or refer to the GLD complaints procedure:
[8]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Courts, judges or sentencing policy – please contact the Ministry of
Justice:
[9]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Police – please contact the Home Office:
[10]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
You may wish to redirect your correspondence to another department that
has responsibility for the issue you have raised.
More information about the role of the AGO can be found at our website:
[11]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....
AGOAUTORESPONSECODE08051872
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/ask-crown-court-sente...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.cps.gov.uk/
4. https://www.cps.gov.uk/feedback-and-comp...
5. https://www.sfo.gov.uk/
6. https://www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/guid...
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
8. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
10. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Mr O'Sullivan,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request below.
The AGO will respond within the deadline requirements of the FOIA.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
FOI Officer
Attorney General’s Office
E: [1][AGO request email]
T: 020 7271 2492
[2]Twitter_Logo_Blue@[3]attorneygeneral | [4]gov.uk/ago
Making law and politics work together at the heart of the UK
constitution
Dear Mr O'Sullivan,
Please see the attached response to your FOI request dated 15 January
2023.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
FOI Officer
Attorney General’s Office
E: [1][AGO request email]
T: 020 7271 2492
[2]Twitter_Logo_Blue@[3]attorneygeneral | [4]gov.uk/ago
Making law and politics work together at the heart of the UK
constitution
From: Correspondence (AGO) <[email address]>
Sent: 17 January 2023 15:43
To: john o'sullivan <[FOI #935918 email]>
Cc: Correspondence (AGO) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: External Email - Freedom of Information request -
Prosecutions of SPM's by the Post Office between 2000 and 2014
Dear Mr O'Sullivan,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request below.
The AGO will respond within the deadline requirements of the FOIA.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
FOI Officer
Attorney General’s Office
E: [5][AGO request email]
T: 020 7271 2492
[6]Twitter_Logo_Blue@[7]attorneygeneral | [8]gov.uk/ago
Making law and politics work together at the heart of the UK constitution
Dear Correspondence (AGO),Thank you for a reply.Does your Office know who has oversight of Private Prosecutions particularly making sure evidentially tests are met and discloure conventions adhered to?All Legal Advice may be considered privilleged but surely the facts in what is quite correctly descrbed as The Post Office Scandal merit a change in the historic norm?Abuse of process,malicious prosecution,affront to the Public Conscience,bankruptcy,suicide- do these matters not weigh more than paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code- which itself appears to be something of a moveable feast over the last few years?
Yours sincerely,
john o'sullivan
Thank you for contacting the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
Please note the Attorney General provides legal advice to the government
and is unable to give legal advice, assistance or support to individuals.
The Attorney General does not have investigatory powers.
We strive to answer all correspondence that falls within the remit of the
AGO within 20 days. However, we are unable to reply to matters that do not
fall within the responsibility of the department.
Please note that, although the Attorney General superintends the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and Government
Legal Department (GLD), these departments are operationally independent
and the Attorney General’s Office is unable to intervene in individual
cases or comment on any active proceedings.
Unduly Lenient Sentence Referrals
If you have contacted our office regarding a sentence you feel is too low,
please ensure you have provided us with all the information we require.
Full details can be found at the following link:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/ask-crown-court-sente...
If you are the victim in the case in question, or a close family member of
the victim, you can expect to be informed of the outcome of your referral.
Due to the large number of referrals we receive, we unfortunately cannot
guarantee a response to referrals made by those without such a connection
to the case.
Other Matters
If your correspondence is in relation to:
Coronavirus / COVID-19 issues – please refer to the regularly updated
guidance at [2]https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) matters or complaints – please contact the
CPS: [3]https://www.cps.gov.uk/ or refer to the CPS complaints procedure:
[4]https://www.cps.gov.uk/feedback-and-comp...
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) matters or complaints – please contact the SFO:
[5]https://www.sfo.gov.uk/ or refer to the SFO complaints procedure:
[6]https://www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/guid...
Government Legal Department (GLD) matters or complaints – please contact
the GLD:
[7]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
or refer to the GLD complaints procedure:
[8]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Courts, judges or sentencing policy – please contact the Ministry of
Justice:
[9]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Police – please contact the Home Office:
[10]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
You may wish to redirect your correspondence to another department that
has responsibility for the issue you have raised.
More information about the role of the AGO can be found at our website:
[11]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....
AGOAUTORESPONSECODE08051872
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/ask-crown-court-sente...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.cps.gov.uk/
4. https://www.cps.gov.uk/feedback-and-comp...
5. https://www.sfo.gov.uk/
6. https://www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/guid...
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
8. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
10. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
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