Post Office told Fujitsu engineer to tone down evidence

On Wednesday the inquiry was shown drafts of witness statements by Mr Jenkins, drawn up as Post Office prosecutors prepared their case against Mr Thomas.

In his first draft, Mr Jenkins said “system failure” could be one of the reasons behind the problems at Mr Thomas’ branch, adding that “such failures are normal occurrences”.

The inquiry was shown how this line had been deleted, in edits to the document made by Post Office investigator, Graham Ward.

Mr Ward added in tracked changes to the document: “This is a really poor choice of words which seems to accept that failures in the system are normal and therefore may well support the postmasters’ claim that the system is to blame for losses !!!!”

In a separate email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Ward told him his statement needed work, saying it was “potentially very damaging” and that the Post Office needed to ensure it was not “embarrassed” in court.

At the inquiry Mr Jenkins was asked if he agreed that Mr Ward was trying to influence a witness statement to be used in criminal proceedings before the Crown Court. “I think it could be interpreted in that way,” he replied.

Mr Jenkins said it was clear Mr Ward wanted to use less emotive language, but that he was happy with the wording he had ended up with.

Mr Jenkins’ statement was not ultimately heard in court, as Mr Thomas pleaded guilty.