- New legislation will ensure all those exposed to the IT
scandal do not miss out on compensation
- Following feedback from the Horizon IT Inquiry, government
takes action to enable paying back claimants past arbitrary
deadline
- The Post Office scandal is one of the biggest miscarriages of
justice in history and new law will ensure victims get the
compensation they deserve
The government has today [29 November 2023] introduced the Post
Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill to the House of Commons
to ensure that the trailblazers who exposed the scandal do not
miss out on compensation because of an arbitrary deadline.
The Horizon IT Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, is
responsible for ensuring there is a public summary of the
failings which occurred with the Horizon IT system at the Post
Office leading to the wrongful suspension, termination of
postmasters’ contracts, prosecution and conviction of
postmasters.
Following recommendations from Sir Wyn, Ministers have brought
forward legislation to allow compensation to be paid under the
Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme past the 7 August 2024
deadline if needed.
Minister for Postal Affairs said:
The Post Office Scandal is widely described as the biggest
miscarriage of justice in our history, and it is imperative that
the victims get the justice and compensation they deserve.
I am determined that lessons are learnt from this scandal to
prevent anything like this ever happening again. This Bill will
ensure postmasters aren’t tied to an arbitrary deadline when
making their claims or unnecessarily pressurised.
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 GLO Scheme was launched in March 2023 and was designed to
compensate postmasters who exposed the Post Office Horizon
Scandal from the 1990s.
, Member of the Horizon
Compensation Advisory Board, said:
I welcome the principle of the Government’s Bill lifting the
deadline on compensation payments under the Group Litigation
Scheme.
We shall have to look at the precise details, but the Bill
confirms that the Government does intend to provide full and fair
compensation to the sub-postmasters and will not be deflected
from that by arbitrary timescales.
Nevertheless, speed of payment is of the essence, and the
Advisory Board will do all we can to ensure that payments are
made as early as possible.
Today’s update builds on this government’s action to seek to
right the wrongs of the past, including our announcement in
September 2023 in supporting the Post Office to make an upfront
offer of £600,000 to postmasters whose Horizon-related conviction
has been overturned.
In total, £132 million has been paid to over 2,700 claimants
across the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, Overturned Convictions
Scheme and Group Litigation Order scheme.
Post Office (Horizon System)
Compensation Bill
Explanatory Notes
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