Gary Thomas told the Post Office Horizon inquiry that his probe into sub-postmasters had been fuelled by “bonus objectives”.

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The long-serving Post Office employee was the lead investigator in the case of Julian Wilson, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008.

Worcestershire postmaster Wilson died from bowel cancer in 2016, five years before he was cleared of stealing £27,000.

In a 2015 email mocking victims, Thomas said he wanted to prove there was “no ‘Case for the Justice of Thieving Subposters’.”

He added: “We were the best Investigators they ever had and they were all crooks!”

Wilson’s widow Karen said her husband spoke about suicide, the Telegraph reports.

She also reportedly claimed the stress caused by his wrongful conviction contributed to his early death.

Thomas admitted that his email was “absolutely disgraceful” – and he was “embarrassed” about his presumption that the postmasters were guilty.

Victim and campaigner Alan Bates slammed the “appalling” bonuses.

Bates said: “The Post Office seems to have a bonus culture running right through it.”

It comes after ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells handed back her CBE “with immediate effect” after more than one million people signed a petition.

Vennells said on Tuesday she will hand back her award amid public fury over the Horizon IT scandal.

Faulty Horizon accounting software made it appear as if money was missing from Post Office branches around the UK.

The faulty IT system led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters, despite mounting evidence that they were innocent.

Vennells, who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with Horizon IT system, was appointed a CBE in December 2018.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has now vowed to exonerate all sub-postmasters and hand out £600,000 in compensation.