Article for Brentwood Gazette 9th January 2024
Like many others, I have watched the ITV drama ‘Mr Bates Vs the Post Office’ this week about the treatment by Post office Limited of the sub-postmasters who were accused of theft based on flawed evidence from the Horizon IT system.
To date, I have not received any correspondence from constituents who were sub-postmasters at the time of the Horizon scandal, although I am aware some may have moved out of my constituency as a result of the allegations which were made against them.
While we cannot undo the damage that has been done, we must establish what went wrong. I am aware that nobody at either the Post Office or Fujitsu has been held directly accountable. Clearly, the ITV drama has focussed attention on this issue, which is currently being investigated by a statutory public inquiry, and the Inquiry Chair, Sir Wyn Williams, published an interim report, to which my ministerial colleagues will provide a formal response. You can read Sir Wyn’s interim report here: https://www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/interim-report-compensation-17-july-2023
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 UK Government has said this week that that every Postmaster who was wrongfully convicted and has had their conviction overturned as it was reliant on Horizon evidence will be offered an optional sum of up to £600,000 in compensation. All reasonable legal fees will continue to be covered and any Postmaster who does not want to accept this offer can continue with the existing process. For those postmasters who have already received initial compensation payments or have reached a settlement with the Post Office of less than the £600,000, they will be paid the difference.
The harm that these prosecutions have wreaked on the affected families over the past 20 years is irreparable. Lessons should and will be learnt to ensure that an injustice of this magnitude never happens again.
10th January 2023 - Update on Government Actions to Help Wronged Sub-Postmasters from the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake MP
We are bringing forward primary legislation to quash all convictions that were based on the erroneous Horizon evidence or behaviour of the Post Office during the period in question.
- The Post Office scandal is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history, shaking people’s faith in the principles of equality and fairness that form the core pillars of our legal system.
- That is why we are acting at speed to bring forward legislation to quash all convictions that were based on this miscarriage of justice. We will also introduce an upfront compensation offer to recognise the vital role of the group of the 555 postmasters and consult on speeding up access to compensation.
- This will clear people’s names, deliver justice and ensure swifter access to compensation for innocent people who have waited too long, as we join in our share mission to ensure that such a tragedy can never, and will never, happen again.
We are doing this by:
- Introducing primary legislation within weeks to quash all convictions that were based on erroneous Horizon evidence and the egregious behaviour of the Post Office in the period in question. We will do this on a blanket basis and consider whether to include the small number of cases that have already been considered by the appeal courts, this will clear people’s names and paves the way for innocent individuals to receive at least £600,000 in compensation.
- Bringing forward an upfront offer for the Group Litigation Order (GLO) cohort, recognising the vital role the 555 postmasters played, enabling them to get compensation faster. We will introduce an upfront offer for the cohort of postmasters who originally bought this injustice to the forefront, which will ensure they have access to compensation faster in recognition of the vital role they played.
- Consulting the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to speed up the roll out of compensation schemes, helping deliver swifter support to the wronged. It is clear the current compensation system is too slow. We will consult the Board on the approach to compensation payments, to see if there are further steps we can take to speed up payments across all compensation schemes.
We are building on our existing support for wronged postmasters by:
- Paying out a total of £148 million to around 2,700 victims. We have put in place numerous schemes to ensure victims receive compensation as swiftly as possible. In total, we have paid out £148 million to around 2,700 victims – with full and final compensation paid out to 64 per cent of those affected. Including:
- The GLO members, with 474 of the 484 eligible postmasters receiving an interim payment. In total, the scheme has paid out £27 million.
- Horizon Shortfall Scheme, which has now offered over £107 million of compensation to all 2,417 postmasters who have made claims.
- The overturned Horizon convictions scheme, with over £30 million paid out. We have ensured individuals are eligible for £163,000 within 28 days and have the option of an upfront offer of £600,000, or having their claim individually assessed.
Q: Rightful convictions?
Our number one priority is delivering swift justice to those who have suffered for way too long. We recognise a blanket approach may lead to the overturning of some rightful convictions not caused by this scandal and we will work up safeguards to mitigate the risk of those individuals defrauding the taxpayer.
Picture shows statement from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
