Prime Minister promises new law to clear victims of the Post Office scandal
Hundreds were wrongfully convicted and blamed for an IT error
Rishi Sunak has said the Government will introduce new laws to make sure victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.
Speaking in the Commons, the Prime Minister said:
“Today I can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation to make sure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
“We will also introduce a new up-front payment of £75,000 for the vital GLO (group litigation order) group of postmasters.”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has been discussing the situation with senior judges because of the constitutional concern about Parliament being seen to interfere with the legal process.
The Horizon system started to be rolled out in Post Office branches across the UK in 1999 and over the subsequent years a series of subpostmasters were prosecuted over missing funds.
In 2019 the High Court ruled that Horizon contained a number of "bugs, errors and defects" and there was a "material risk" that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
This news follows the STV Drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office' which put the scandal in the spotlight and brought the injustice to the nation's attention.
Yesterday (9th January) the former head of The Post Office, Paula Vennells announced she will hand back her CBE which she was awarded for her work with The Post Office and for charity.
In Scotland, two people have already had their convictions quashed.
Lat night prosecutors confirmed they were first made aware about problems with the Post Office's Horizon IT system.
The Crown Office estimates 100 cases here are affected by the glitch.
Doctor Andrew Tickell is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Glasgow Caledonian University and told Greatest Hits Radio: "I think we will get a leading judgement here in Scotland which says how Scottish cases should be handled.
"The Crown Office anticipates there would be an exponential increase in the number of exonerations after that."
"One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history"
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Commons:
“This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history.
“People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own. The victims must get justice and compensation.”
He told MPs that business minister Kevin Hollinrake will set out “more details to the House shortly”.
Downing Street has insisted that Fujitsu will be held to account if it is found guilty of wrongdoing in the Horizon scandal.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said:
"We strongly believe that individuals, that businesses, will be held to account for one of the biggest miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen.
"We will not resile from that. But it is right that we allow an independent inquiry to get the facts, to set them out, and then we can act."
What is the Horizon IT scandal?
The Horizon IT scandal revolves around the Post Office's Horizon accounting system, which is used by subpostmasters.
The system, which was first introduced in 1999, experienced glitches that led to financial discrepancies. Many subpostmasters were wrongly accused of theft and false accounting, resulting in legal actions, job losses, and even imprisonment.
Some postal workers have died before having a chance to clear their names.
After years of denial, the Post Office acknowledged the system's faults. In 2019, they settled a legal case, apologizing and compensating affected individuals. The scandal raised questions about the reliability of technology in the justice system and corporate accountability.