Megan Cadwalladr
PM Rishi Sunak has announced plans for an emergency law to grant a blanket acquittal for hundreds of wrongly convicted victims of the Post Office Scandal.
What Is The Post Office Scandal?
In 1999, the Post Office began using a new computer accounting system, named Horizon, which was developed by Japanese technology firm Fujitsu.
Between 1999 and 2015, faults in Horizon’s software wrongly made it appear as though money was missing from branches, leading to the prosecution of more than 700 subpostmasters. These convictions ruined the lives of countless workers, with some going to jail, and many financially ruined.
The Post Office denied any errors in the computer system and asserted that Horizon could not be accessed remotely. However, in 2017, High Court proceedings brought by a group of sub-postmasters saw the Post Office admit the possibility of faults in the computer system.
In 2019, the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, led by Alan Bates, won their case in the High Court. This case proved that “bugs, errors, and defects in the Horizon system caused discrepancies in postmasters’ branch accounts.”
The Post Office Scandal has been described as “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice” in British history by PM Rishi Sunak.
Mr Bates vs. The Post Office (2024)
Public outrage over the scandal has been ignited by Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, an ITV four-part drama which showcases the subpostmasters’ fight for justice. The series is based on the real-life impacts of the scandal on subpostmasters across the country, highlighting the work of subpostmaster Alan Bates (Toby Jones).
The widespread public discussion following the release of the series has placed pressure on the UK government, the Post Office and Fujitsu to compensate victims.
Sunak’s Plans For A Blanket Acquittal
Sunak confirmed on Wednesday, 10th of January, that a new law would be passed to ensure that the people wrongly convicted would be quickly exonerated. Only 93 of at least 700 convictions have been overturned to date.
There have been mixed responses from post office operators. While many celebrated this step towards justice, others expressed frustration that it has taken a public outcry for the government to react. Chris Head, a former post office operator, said: “Why has it taken an outrage from the public, [so] that the government had no choice but to act? This story has been out there for 20 years. We could have had this dealt with well before now.”
The government has also announced a compensation scheme that would allow some affected subpostmasters to receive an upfront payment of £75,000.
In response, Bates stated that victims with claims higher than that amount also needed their cases addressed.
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Featured image courtesy of HM Treasury via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
