- Every postmaster whose conviction relied on Horizon evidence
and has now been overturned will be offered £600,000 to settle
their claim
- Postmasters will continue to receive funds to cover legal
fees
- So far, 86 convictions have been overturned and £21 million
has been paid in compensation
The UK Government has today announced 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 of course
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.
Our aim is to ensure as many Postmasters involved receive this
offer of compensation as fast as possible to help bring a
resolution to the scandal. This includes any Postmasters who
overturn their convictions in the future based on Horizon
evidence – they too will be entitled to today’s compensation.
Post Office Minister said:
“This is about righting a wrong and providing some form of relief
to those wrongfully caught up in this scandal.
“Too many Postmasters have suffered and for too long, which is
why the Government remains committed to seeing this through to
the end until it is resolved and ensuring this cannot ever happen
again.”
Starting in 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
sub-postmasters cover the shortfalls, and in many cases
wrongfully prosecuted them between 1999 and 2015 for false
accounting or theft.
Postmasters who were wrongfully convicted have been forced to
endure great hardships, losing clean criminal records, loss of
liberty and huge financial losses – that is why the Government
believes today’s announcement can finally bring the pain to a
close.
The Government has already set up the Post Office Horizon IT
Inquiry and provided it with the necessary statutory powers to
ensure it can investigate what happened, establish the facts and
make recommendations for the future. The Inquiry is progressing
and we will continue to cooperate fully to ensure that the facts
of what happened are established and lessons learned.
To date, 86 convictions have been overturned and £21 million has
been paid in compensation to postmasters with overturned
convictions.
The Overturned Convictions process, Horizon Shortfall Scheme and
Group Litigation Order have in total paid more than £120 million
to 2,600 individuals affected by the Horizon scandal.
Notes to editors
- The Department announced interim payments of £100,000 in July
2021. The limit was later uplifted to £163,000. Post Office has
made interim payments to 100% of eligible postmasters who have
submitted a claim.
- Today’s £600,000 offer will be made net of any sums already
received, such as interim payments and partial settlements, to
settle the claim full
- Postmasters are eligible for this upfront offer if their
conviction was overturned on the basis that it was reliant on
Horizon evidence
