Post Office scandal: hundreds of wrongful Horizon convictions to be quashed by landmark legislation

The government will today (13 March) introduce legislation to quash the hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters wrongly convicted by the Post Office’s faulty IT software.

The blanket exoneration will be delivered through the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill, and will wipe convictions brought about by erroneous Horizon evidence. More than 900 sub-postmasters were given criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing from their shops.

Many more were left destitute, losing their homes and livelihoods, as the Post Office relentlessly pursued them, continually claiming there were no issues with its computer system. 

The scandal, described as the UK's “biggest miscarriage of justice”, was highlighted by the ITV drama series called Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Tragically, at least four sub-postmasters have committed suicide in the midst of battling the Post Office.

Now, more than two decades after the Horizon software was first introduced, the government will automatically quash sub-postmasters’ convictions if they were prosecuted by the Post Office or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 1996 and 2018 for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I want to pay tribute to all the postmasters who have shown such courage and perseverance in their fierce campaign for justice, and to those who tragically won’t see the justice they deserve. 

“While I know that nothing can make up for what they’ve been through, today’s legislation marks an important step forward in finally clearing their names. 

“We owe it to the victims of this scandal who have had their lives and livelihoods callously torn apart, to deliver the justice they’ve fought so long and hard for, and to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.” 

The government will make sub-postmasters sign a legal statement vowing they did not commit the crime which they were convicted for, to try and prevent genuine criminals from being exonerated. Any person found to have signed a statement falsely could be guilty of fraud.

The bill will apply to England and Wales. The government said it will work with the administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure redress will be paid to victims across the whole of the UK on the same basis.

The legislation was met with approval from the Horizon Compensation Advisory board, with chair Prof Chris Hodges saying it welcomed “the government’s decision to take direct responsibility for delivering fair compensation to those whose convictions are overturned”. 

Postal Affairs Minister Kevin Hollinrake also confirmed the government will bring forward compensation for postmasters who were not convicted, or part of the legal action highlighted in the ITV drama series starring Toby Jones, but who still suffered considerably due to Horizon failures. It said they would have the option to receive a payment of £75,000 and those who already settled for less could have their redress topped up.

Hollinrake said: “Postmasters have been fighting for justice for years, and I hope the introduction of today’s legislation is the light at the end of the tunnel they have been waiting for. 

“It is only right that postmasters have access to swift and fair compensation which is why those with overturned convictions have the option of immediately taking a fixed and final offer of £600,000 and why we are changing the rules for those in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, so they are entitled to a £75,000 fixed sum award, bypassing the assessment process.  

“For those who don’t choose this option, their claims can be assessed as part of the usual scheme process, in which there is no limit to compensation.” 

However, NationalWorld has previously reported issues with the compensation process. Campaigners have warned the government about the risk of sub-postmasters feeling suicidal.

Former sub-postmaster and campaigner Chris Head, 36, met with Hollinrake and other officials last month to warn them of his concerns around victims’ mental health. He wants more safeguarding checks to be put in place when compensation is offered.

Head, who was the UK’s youngest sub-postmaster in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, was under criminal and civil investigation after the faulty IT system showed cash losses of more than £80,000. He was pulled into the group litigation High Court case with Alan Bates and other sub-postmasters, as highlighted in Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

However, Head says has only been offered 15% of his Group Litigation Order claim by the Department for Business and Trade, and is disputing this with an independent panel. He is worried that similar offers to more vulnerable sub-postmasters could push them to the brink.

“I’m concerned about a small number of sub-postmasters,” Head told NationalWorld. “If you make that offer to them, not knowing that they might kill themselves.

“Some of them have gone to prison, some of them have lost their homes, some of them have family members who don’t speak to them.” He says this is why he warned Hollinrake and other government officials about his concerns in February.

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Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.