Many residents have been in touch following the ITV drama Mr Bates v The Post Office about sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft and pursued on flawed evidence from the Horizon IT system and treated appallingly. I welcome that the Justice Secretary is reviewing the wrongful prosecutions.
The Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake MP, provided an update in the Commons on 8th January in which he reiterated this Government's desire to secure justice for the postmasters affected by the scandal and outlined the steps already being taken.
The Government has provided funding to Post Office to make upfront interim payments of £163,000 to eligible postmasters who have their convictions overturned as well as funding for full and final settlements.
The Department for Business and Trade announced in September that the Government has decided that postmasters who have their convictions on the basis of Horizon evidence overturned should have the opportunity upfront to accept an offer of £600,000 in full and final settlement of their claim.
This upfront offer is available to those postmasters whose convictions were overturned as they were reliant on Horizon evidence at the time. This payment will be made net of any sums already received, such as interim payments and partial settlements, to settle the claim fully.
The Government believes it is essential to recognise that postmasters have suffered gravely in relation to the Horizon scandal, and for too long and should be able to settle their claim swiftly, if they wish.
Any postmaster who does not want to accept this offer may continue with the existing process. It will therefore be completely optional to accept the offer of £600,000 and Government will continue to fund the legal costs of these postmasters to ensure they receive independent advice ahead of a decision.
However, Ministers hope that the change announced in September will provide more reassurance and quicker compensation to those postmasters who would prefer this option.
Pressure is also mounting on Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, who was Postal Affairs Minister when issues started to emerge. The Sunday Times says Alan Bates wrote to Sir Ed 12 years ago - and had warned the accounting scandal could leave taxpayers exposed to "astronomical" costs.
The Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill will ensure that the trailblazers who exposed the scandal do not miss out on compensation because of an arbitrary deadline. The Government is determined to make compensation claims as soon as possible, and by the current deadline of August 2024. However, time needs to be taken to assess more complex claims, so postmasters receive full and fair compensation and are not unduly rushed into making a decision on their claims.
The full transcript of the statement can be found here: Horizon: Compensation and Convictions - Hansard - UK Parliament
Postal Minister, Kevin Hollinrake MP said:
"The Post Office Horizon scandal, which began over 20 years ago, and the impacts of which are still felt today, is rightly described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in our history.
The House will be aware that during the late 1990s the Post Office began installing Horizon accounting software, but faults in the software led to shortfalls in branches’ accounts. The Post Office demanded that postmasters cover the shortfalls and, in many cases, wrongfully prosecuted them for false accounting or theft.
Attempts to protest their innocence fell on deaf ears, and decent, honest and hard-working postmasters who served at the heart of our communities were subject to a range of abject harms.
Any compensation must be fair and just, and we have created a Horizon compensation advisory board to help us make sure that happens.
I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) for all the work he did as my predecessor; his comments about Fujitsu, and about making sure that it is not the taxpayer alone who picks up the tab, are clearly on the record.
Alongside introducing this Bill, my Department published a revised version of the documents for the group litigation order scheme, which make clearer than ever that the scheme exists to pay full, fair and timely compensation. If compensation cannot be agreed with my Department, a decision will be made by a panel of independent experts. "
Former Postal Affairs Minister, Paul Scully MP:
"Nothing has kept me awake at night more than the plight of the sub-postmasters who fell within the Horizon scandal and the biggest miscarriage of justice in British court history.
I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for all his work in trying to rectify the situation. It is horrendously complex, with many strands of compensation and a lot of different competing needs and demands. It is lovely to see on the officials’ bench some familiar faces of those who have worked tirelessly over many years, including preceding my time as Minister."
Useful contacts regarding the Post Office scandal can be found below:
What can I do about my conviction for a Horizon criminal offence?
- Government and the Post Office strongly encourage anyone who believes they were wrongfully convicted, for any reason, to consider an appeal. Substantial compensation is available for anyone whose conviction is overturned where Horizon was essential to the prosecution.
- People with convictions can contact the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) at https://ccrc.gov.uk/post-office/ who can advise on routes of appeal. The CCRC has referred 70 such convictions to the Court of Appeal – resulting in 62 convictions being overturned so far. The process doesn’t cost anything, and there is no need to hire a lawyer.
- Every Postmaster with overturned convictions reliant on Horizon evidence will be given an up-front compensation offer of £600,000, without the need to bring a formal claim. This is entirely optional and postmasters can continue with a formal claim if they wish.
I wasn’t convicted – but I was a postmaster affected by the scandal:
Current and former postmasters affected by the scandal can apply to join the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.
There is more information here and the application form can be found here.
I want the truth about the scandal to be told:
Because the Government wants to make sure that the truth about the scandal is known, that mistakes are learnt from and to ensure that nothing similar happens in future, it has set up an independent inquiry under former High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams.
You can follow its work here.
I have evidence about the scandal:
If you have evidence which might help the Inquiry, please contact Solicitor@postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk
Please see an update below:
Mims Davies MP Supports Postmasters Wrongfully Convicted due to Horizon Scandal | Mims Davies