How on earth did they access your wife's private emails? Surely they would be on her PC/Laptop?
Anyway, it is starting to sound time to get your union rep back on the case and starting talking about huge sums of money.
I too was "set up" back in 2004; mainly because I said what I saw and this did not suit the growing band of Flash Harrys who were slithering their way up the corporate ladder. They manoeuvred me into an imaginary job which they then made redundant. I had to fight with threats of an industrial tribunal and they capitulated with literally 15 minutes to go before the deadline for filing the complaint. They came up with 4 years salary and paid all my legal bills.
So, stick it to them. It sounds possible someone at work has a personal grudge and is perhaps using the company to stitch you up. Don't let them get away with it!