POL00448654
POL00448654
HIGHLY SENSITIVE -
INVESTIGATIONS
TERMS OF REFERENCE
PROJECT MAY
Context
In April 2023 Post Office Ltd (POL) received a request under the Freedom of Information Act
for documents that were used by the Security Team between 2008-2011. Eight documents
were supplied to comply with the request, one of which had seven identity codes that
described racial origins, one of which used the outdated and offensive term ‘negroid’.
Law enforcement and prosecutors in the UK have for many decades standardised the
description of people, including categorisation of skin colour, for legitimate investigative
purposes. This gave rise to identification codes where different skin colours were assigned a
specific identification code number e.g., “IC1” related to a person perceived as being white
skinned European. An explanation, or descriptor, of each code was then provided. The
language used in the descriptors has evolved over time and so older versions were replaced
by newer ones over the years and used different language. It is in one version of a descriptor
that the word “negroid” was used in the FOIA-discovered document.
The descriptors of the codes were believed to have been produced by the State and used in
law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
To capture the full extent of the nature, presence, and/or use of identity code descriptors in
POL, it is justified, necessary, and proportionate to use a timeline that commences with the
establishment of POL as a separate entity from Royal Mail in 2012 through to the present day.
This is the relevant period for Project May.
Aim
The aim of Project May fact find is to:
The Document
e To determine how the identification code document came to be created and/or how
this description of identification codes was present in POL’s document library
e To determine if the descriptors used in the document originated from the Home Office
or other department of the State and if so when they were in use in public services
e To understand, if the descriptors were once provided by the State, why the
development of racial descriptive codes in use by external public sector investigators
over the relevant time was not reflected in POL’s investigation team document library
e@ When and why the term “negroid types” first appeared in any guidance documents
e Who was responsible for its inclusion
POL00448654
POL00448654
HIGHLY SENSITIVE -
INVESTIGATIONS
Use of Identity Codes in POL
To establish a time period during which identity codes were present and/or used from
the establishment of POL in 2012 to date
To establish whether the codes were actively used on POL investigation or prosecution
documentation and to what purpose
To identify the rationale for using identity codes if they were used
To identify any legislative purpose or requirements for the use of identification codes
e.g. under Section 95 Criminal Justice Act 1991
To establish whether there were any additional investigative or prosecution
documents used by POL during the relevant time that contained race identification
codes
To establish what training on the use of identification codes was provided to POL
investigation and prosecution staff
When was the term removed, why was it removed, and who was involved in its
removal
Whether there is any similar language being used in guidance, policy, or equivalent
documents relevant to the terms of reference of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
Broader Considerations
Scope:
To understand whether racial identity codes were used pro-actively by POL
investigators or prosecutors in decision making relating to disposal of cases
To achieve the Aim, the fact finding will be split into two phases -
PHASE 1
Discovery
Conduct investigative meetings with current POL employees who previously worked
within investigations or prosecutions to understand the origin of the document, and
the process, purpose and intent to which the documents themselves and the
descriptors in particular, may have been put.
To submit a P6 request for consideration to be given to electronic searches to
identify any emails and Teams chats that that contain the word ‘negroid’ including
Via POL’s Inquiry team, identify all potentially relevant and discoverable historic
investigation and prosecution papers to establish whether racial identification codes
were used and in what context
Place in historical context
To liaise with law enforcement to establish whether identical race codes were used
in prosecutions or investigations
Consider human rights and equality legislation applicable across the timeline
POL00448654
POL00448654
HIGHLY SENSITIVE -
INVESTIGATIONS
PHASE 2
e Use historic prosecution and charge data to consider whether the use of identity
codes influenced charging or disposal decisions