In Parliament today, Dean asked the Minister questions about supporting wronged postmasters.
The government 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.
The government 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.
The government 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.
