Government pledges over £540 million in financial compensation for wrongly convicted Post Office employees

Government calls for wrongly convicted subpostmasters to seek financial redress

The government is urging wrongly convicted subpostmasters to come forward and seek financial redress through its latest compensation scheme for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal. With at least half a billion pounds committed to the scheme, about 900 people are estimated to be eligible for payments of at least £600,000, with many entitled to even higher amounts.

Despite this, fewer than 200 victims have come forward so far, prompting the government to send out the first tranche of letters to eligible former subpostmasters in the hopes of encouraging more to seek redress. The Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) offers two routes to financial compensation, with an upfront interim payment of £200,000 for all verified applicants, increasing to £600,000 for those who choose to settle.

Business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds emphasized the government’s support for postmasters who have suffered due to the scandal, urging eligible claimants to come forward and register for the scheme. Legal support is recommended for those seeking redress, with the government agreeing to cover costs up to a certain level.

Former subpostmaster and campaigner Alan Bates welcomed the scheme but called on the government to outline its plan for claimants under the Group Litigation Order (GLO) Compensation Scheme. Additionally, there may be another financial redress scheme in the works for former users of the Post Office’s Capture software, with investigations ongoing.

The Post Office Horizon scandal, first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, is considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history. With the government’s commitment to compensating victims, there is hope for some closure for those who have suffered due to the flawed IT system.