London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK government has introduced a compensation plan for approximately 900 wrongfully convicted Post Office operators, offering settlements or full claims, with initial payments of £200,000.
How Will the New Compensation Plan Work for Victims?
Hundreds of incorrectly convicted Post Office operators will be permitted to access a new compensation plan, the UK government has announced. Approximately 900 individuals had their criminal convictions stopped earlier this year by legislation introduced in May to pardon people who had been wrongly charged for financial shortfalls utilising evidence from the Post Office’s Horizon IT system.
The scandal has been defined as the biggest miscarriage of justice in recent legal history and it has since appeared that Horizon suffered from several bugs and flaws. The Department for Business and Trade stated it was establishing a Horizon convictions redress plan which it will administer.
How Will Wrongfully Convicted Post Office Operators Receive Compensation?
Those who have been erroneously convicted will receive a letter verifying their conviction has been quashed and providing further details on how to access the financial redress system. The government has also stated it will help victims access historical data from the Post Office and HMRC to help with their cases.
What Are the Details of the £600,000 Settlement Option?
Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, declared victims could choose from two options: either take a selected settlement of £600,000 or have a full claim check if they believe their losses exceed that sum. The government has stated that regardless of the option they choose, the post office operators who permit for compensation will obtain a preliminary payment of £200,000.
“Recognising that postmasters have suffered immeasurably already, we are also ensuring that regardless of the settlement they choose, they will be able to receive a preliminary payment of £200,000,” Reynolds stated.
What Are the Implications of the High Court Ruling on Horizon?
The Post Office scandal torched earlier this year after a powerful ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office verified the campaigner Alan Bates and 554 post office operators’ fight for justice in their high court lawsuit. The litigation paved the path for the criminal convictions to be toppled after the high court judge ruled that Horizon was not “remotely robust” and mourned from bugs, errors and defects.
More than 900 post office operators were sentenced in the criminal courts using proof from the Horizon system including 700 convictions confirmed by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015.