Post Office sub-postmasters face waiting another five years for justice as police say they need millions more for their investigation.Around 1,000 branch managers were prosecuted, 236 went to jail, and thousands more were wrongly accused over shortfalls in their tills caused by the faulty Horizon accounting system made by Japanese firm Fujitsu.Some were left financially ruined and shunned by their communities, while others took their own lives in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.The scandal was brought to life in 2024 by the award-winning ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.Around 10,000 victims are seeking financial redress, it emerged last year in an inquiry report amid an ongoing investigation.But they are set for yet another delay after Commander Stephen Clayman, who is leading the inquiry, said the size of the investigation team needs boosting.He insisted the group would need to nearly double from 111 to 210 in order to submit files to prosecutors by late next year or early 2028.If these staffing reinforcements are not achieved, the investigation could run into the next decade, Mr Clayman admitted. Victims of the Post Office scandal pictured outside The High Court in London in 2021. Sub-postmasters are facing waiting another five years for justice as police say they need millionsThe inquiry is also facing financial difficulties with its projected budget soaring to £19.3 million 'for 2026/27 and beyond' against a Home Office special grant of only £2.8m.Police have so far interviewed just 13 of the 53 people under investigation, including seven suspects questioned this year.Mr Clayman said on Tuesday: 'Our ongoing priority remains to deliver justice for victims and families affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal.'Earlier today, we met with victims to provide an update on our investigation, outline the progress made so far and explain some of the challenges we are facing.'Many of these victims have been living with the impact of this for 24 years, some have already died and many more are reaching older age.'Put simply, we do not have the luxury of time and must provide answers as soon as possible to those who so desperately deserve them.'Mr Clayman added the inquiry is 'hugely complex', with at least eight million documents needing to be forensically reviewed.'Only by doing this can we piece together exactly what happened, establish who knew what and understand the role suspects may have played,' he said.'As we have always said, the threshold to bring criminal charges is high, so we must be confident that the evidence we present to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has the best possible chance of meeting this bar.'He added: 'We cannot underestimate the task in hand. Through the many conversations we've had with sub-postmasters over the course of our investigation so far, we have been honest about these challenges and the scale of what lies ahead.'This includes overcoming funding challenges at a time when police forces are already severely stretched. 'Without this, we risk our timelines being pushed back by as much as five years, which we know is unacceptable for those who have already been living with this for decades.'Dedication, meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering focus on the goal of delivering justice remains at the heart of the team, but we must have the appropriate resources in place to support them.'A Government spokesperson said: 'The Post Office Horizon IT scandal was an appalling injustice. 'It is important that victims' voices are heard and that the causes identified through the public inquiry, and full and fair redress is paid out quickly to those who suffered.'In addition, the National Police Chiefs' Council and the Metropolitan Police Service are carrying out an investigation into potential criminality in the prosecutions of sub postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system as robust.'That investigation is ongoing. The Home Office has provided £3.2 million since 2023 to the MPS for Op Olympos and has allocated a further £2.8 million in 26/27 and is considering requests for further funding.'Faulty software run by Japanese firm Fujitsu wrongly suggested money was missing from branch accounts across the country.The scandal – which took place between 1999 and 2015 – led to widespread anger after being brought to the public's attention in a hit ITV drama.Following an outcry, it was announced that victims would be awarded compensation.So far, more than 11,500 claimants have received payments worth approximately £1.48billion. Commander Stephen Clayman, pictured in 2024, said the size of the investigation team needs boostingThe total bill is expected to rise to around £2bn once legal and administrative costs are taken into account.Yet the company behind the software is yet to contribute to the bill and has not yet agreed to a figure.And in May, MPs said Fujitsu, the company behind the Post Office Horizon scandal, should be barred from Government contracts as it has not paid any compensation to victims.The firm is 'yet to contribute a penny' to the redress bill for the sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted, they said.The Business and Trade Committee (BTC) said the company should not continue to benefit from taxpayers' money.In a report, its chairman, Liam Byrne, said: 'Thousands of victims are still waiting for fair redress, while the processes designed to help them are too often slow, bureaucratic and retraumatising.'That is simply unacceptable after one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history.'Worse, Fujitsu has yet to contribute a penny to the nearly £2 billion redress bill, even as it continues to benefit from public contracts. That cannot continue.'It is simply wrong that taxpayers are covering the costs for Fujitsu's sins while Fujitsu is still profiting from taxpayers-funded contracts.'In January 2024, Fujitsu announced a self-imposed moratorium on bidding for new Government contracts.However, it continues to supply its IT system to the Post Office and also to Government departments through a number of contracts.A spokeswoman for Fujitsu in May said: 'We continue to work with UK Government to ensure we adhere to the voluntary restrictions we put in place regarding bidding for new contracts while the Post Office Inquiry is ongoing, and are engaged with Government regarding Fujitsu's contribution to compensation.' The committee also said that there was emerging evidence that Horizon's predecessor Capture may have had similar flaws to Horizon.It said that this may have contributed to unsafe convictions and that the current number of cases may be the 'tip of another iceberg'.'Parliament must act quickly to quash these convictions and ensure that every victim finally gets the justice they deserve,' the committee added.A compensation scheme for sub-postmasters who were forced to repay shortfalls from the faulty accounting system Capture was launched last year.