Post Office Horizon Scandal: Wronged postmasters offered £19.5m interim compensation
Post Office Horizon scandal victims have been given an extra £19.5m in compensation, bringing the total payout to around £30m.
“These postmasters and their families have shown immense courage in the face of terrible circumstances,” Postal affairs minister Paul Scully said.
“I hope this initial step provides some comfort to these pioneering postmasters while reaffirming our commitment to ensuring they receive their fair share in compensation.”
He said postmasters will be contacted to fill out an application form to receive compensation in the coming weeks.
More than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions between 2000 and 2014 when faulty accounting software called Horizon made it look as if money was missing.
555 sub-postmasters from the original group took the Post Office to the High Court in 2019, where they proved that the accounting errors were at fault. They received £43m plus legal costs in a settlement, but much of this cash was swallowed up in associated costs.
The Government confirmed back in March that it would create a fresh scheme to plug this gap and the announcement today is an interim payment to provide this support while the scheme is pushed through.
Freeths has been named the law firm to work with the Government to design and implement the scheme for postmasters.
Partner and National Head of Dispute Resolution at Freeths James Hartley, said: “We are delighted that the Government is doing the right thing for the GLO claimants. It will achieve closure for them and deliver fair compensation.
We are committed to driving this through to a conclusion in the interests of the claimant group.”
The accounting errors occurred whenever internet connection was lost. This was more of a common occurrence in the 1990s, when many of the claims were first brought.
If the internet connection dropped out when a transaction was being sent by the Post Office and a postmaster attempted to re-send it, the Horizon system would log it as a new transaction, thereby over-calculating the amount of money collected.
Some postmasters tried to compensate for the system’s mistakes using their own money to plug the gaps of missing cash. Some even mortgaged their homes and found themselves in financial ruin as a result.
Many faced backlash from their local communities at the time, were shunned by their communities, who believed them untrustworthy, while others struggled to find new work.