Thank you for contacting me about the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. I am appalled by the treatment of the sub-postmasters who were accused of theft based on flawed evidence from the Horizon IT system. Victims' accounts of the impact of these prosecutions are harrowing: some served prison sentences; many had their livelihoods and life savings decimated; marriages broke down; four committed suicide; others passed away before being able to clear their names; and many were ostracised by their local communities and as a result failed to find alternative work.
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. 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. However, in light of the rulings, the Government converted a public inquiry into the affair to a statutory footing which allows its Chair, Sir Wyn Williams, the necessary powers and time to conduct an in-depth analysis of the decision-making processes that led to the scandal. I understand that Sir Wyn has publish his interim report, and my ministerial colleagues will provide a formal response shortly. 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. To date, more than £148 million has been paid to 2,700 victims across all compensation schemes, 93 convictions have been overturned and, of those, 30 have agreed full and final settlements. Just over £30 million has been paid out in compensation to those with overturned convictions, including interim payments.
The Government has been clear that it should not be the taxpayer alone who funds these compensation schemes. The inquiry is committed to concluding by the end of this year and reporting shortly after. At that point, Ministers will know who was responsible for what, and they should then be able to identify who can be made responsible through potential financial contributions, rather than the taxpayer alone.
This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in this country’s history, so I welcome the decisive action the Government is taking to clear the names of the people affected and speed up compensation. Hundreds of innocent postmasters who were wrongfully convicted due to the Horizon scandal will have their names cleared under new laws to be brought forward by the government. My ministerial colleagues have made clear that this scandal is a truly exceptional circumstance, and I am assured that they have made their decision while recognising the importance of an independent court system and judiciary. I understand that the Lord Chancellor liaised with members of the judiciary about this measure ahead of its announcement. Ministers have been clear that this should not set a precedent for future cases.
There is great concern about the role of the Post Office in prosecuting these cases. The Post Office rightly decided to stop undertaking private prosecutions in 2015. If we are to make sure that a scandal such as this can never happen again, we need to look at the way in which private prosecutions such as these have been undertaken. Any company can bring private prosecutions in this way: this is not a special power of the Post Office.
As you may be aware, Paula Vennells has confirmed she will hand back her CBE. I welcome this decision.
15/01/2024