Post Office scandal victims will be 'cleared and compensated' under new law, Rishi Sunak says
10 January 2024, 12:10 | Updated: 10 January 2024, 12:58
Rishi Sunak has confirmed new legislation will be brought in to "exonerate and compensate" wrongly convicted postmasters during the Post Office Horizon scandal.
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The prime minister confirmed the law would be brought in "swiftly", though there is no confirmed date. Earlier today, the Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that all compensation should be paid by August.
Speaking at the start of Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Sunak said: "Today I can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation to make sure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
A new up-front payment of £75,000 will be brought in for the "vital" GLO (group litigation order) group of postmasters, Mr Sunak said.
"We will make sure that the truth comes to light," he added.
The leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, praised the Prime Minister's plans, as he labelled the Horizon scandal a "huge injustice".
"People lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood - and they've been waiting far too long for truth, for justice, for compensation," the Labour leader said.
Sir Keir added that he was "glad" that Mr Sunak was putting together a proposal to exonerate and compensate the victims.
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Speaking after Mr Sunak's announcement, the Post Office minister admitted to the House of Commons that some postmasters who were actually guilty could have their convictions overturned.
"I cannot tell the house that all of those were innocent... we just do not know how many," Mr Hollinrake said.
He went on: "We want to avoid guilty people walking away with hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money.... but we cannot turn this into an administrative exercise.
"As part of their claim they will sign a statement to say they did not commit the crimes."
The Horizon scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing from the Post Office, was thrust back into the limelight following ITV's new drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office'.
It centres around Alan Bates, a key campaigner in holding the Post Office to account during the scandal.
It told the story of how hundreds of Post Office workers were wrongly given criminal convictions after faulty Horizon software made it look as though money was missing.
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The TV drama gripped the nation last week, bringing a series of key figures who presided over the scandal back into the limelight.
That includes the former Post Office CEO, Paula Vennells, who was in charge when the Post Office led a campaign of wrongful prosecutions.
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