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Post Office : Post Office welcomes Government funding to be able to make interim payments (100k) for overturned convictions in 'Horizon cases'

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Post Office : Post Office welcomes Government funding to be able to make interim payments (100k) for overturned convictions in 'Horizon cases'

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http://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/secur ... ses-431451

Post Office today welcomed the Government’s announcement ( https://questions-statements.parliament ... 22/hcws246) of funding support to be able to expedite interim payments of up to £100,000 for individuals whose convictions have been overturned where Horizon evidence was essential to the prosecution.

The payments will be offered whilst final compensation arrangements are established.

Post Office Chief Executive, Nick Read, said:

“Ensuring compensation is made as quickly as possible is a priority for Post Office. I welcome the Government’s support to enable these interim payments that begin to provide some redress to people who were badly failed.

“Whilst we cannot change the past, this is an important step towards meaningful compensation for victims and we will offer payments as soon as possible.”

The Post Office is contacting the representatives of people making claims following the overturning of their convictions. The aim is to provide offers within 28 days of applications for interim payments being received. Payments will be made as soon as possible following acceptance of offers.

Note to Editors


For final compensation, Post Office is proposing Alternative Dispute Resolution arrangements which aim to facilitate the swift quantification and resolution of compensation claims. But interim payments announced today do not prevent people from bringing civil claims through the Courts.

Appeals against convictions in historical Post Office prosecutions began following the ‘Horizon Issues’ Judgment in group civil litigation in 2019. To date 59 convictions have been overturned in appeals unopposed by the Post Office.

In overturning convictions, ‘Horizon cases’ have been termed by the Court of Appeal as those where the reliability of the Horizon system was essential to the prosecution and conviction.
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Re: Post Office : Post Office welcomes Government funding to be able to make interim payments (100k) for overturned convictions in 'Horizon cases'

Post by POSTMAN »

Kwasi Kwarteng : Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Post Office Horizon Update

This House is aware of the distressing impact that problems with the Post Office’s Horizon IT system have had on the lives and livelihoods of many postmasters.

Over the years, the Horizon accounting system recorded shortfalls in cash in branches. These shortfalls were treated by the Post Office as caused by postmasters, and this led to dismissals, recovery of losses by Post Office Ltd and, in some cases, criminal prosecutions. We now know this data was unreliable.

The Court of Appeal handed down a landmark judgment on 23 April 2021, which quashed the convictions of 39 postmasters. A further 12 were quashed in the Court of Appeal earlier this week. Further convictions have been quashed in the Crown Court. The Government has been clear that we want to see compensation delivered fairly and as quickly as possible. We have also been clear that it is for the Post Office to engage with the individuals in the first instance regarding how compensation can be paid. I am pleased to provide an update on the steps to begin providing compensation to postmasters whose criminal convictions were based on Horizon data and have been quashed.

We have listened to affected postmasters and want to see them receive compensation quickly. The Government has therefore decided to support the Post Office so that it can make interim payments of up to £100,000 promptly to individual postmasters whose criminal convictions relied on Horizon data and have been quashed, ahead of final compensation settlements being agreed with them. I am providing this support in my capacity as sole shareholder in the Post Office.

While we recognise that these interim payments may not represent the full compensation that postmasters may ultimately receive, and which will need to be determined between the Post Office and the individuals concerned, it is a means of providing monies to individuals at an early stage in the claims process. The process for finally determining the compensation to be paid will take time and will involve POL obtaining a full quantification of all claims. These claims need to be carefully examined so that postmasters ultimately receive fair compensation and the payments that they deserve.

In the meantime, the Government thanks the postmasters for their patience, recognising the impact that being wrongfully prosecuted has had on individuals and believes that an interim payment is a way to begin to address the hardships they have faced ahead of when the final sum can be determined and paid.

Post Office is contacting the legal representatives of postmasters whose convictions have been quashed with further information about interim payments. We expect Post Office to issue offer letters for interim payments within 28 days of receiving a claim from eligible postmasters.

Government is committed to supporting and maintaining the Post Office network, which, along with the postmasters, provide essential services to our urban and rural communities. This decision supports the Government’s priorities to support postmasters and to see the longstanding Horizon issues resolved. This support is in addition to the financial support BEIS has provided for the Historical Shortfall Scheme to proceed, which was opened to recompense postmasters who repaid shortfalls and did not have a criminal conviction. In addition, BEIS launched the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, which recently converted to a statutory footing, following the Court of Appeal judgment.

We understand that Post Office has already begun work to deliver the full compensation sum to postmasters and we will work with them towards this. With my status as sole shareholder in the Post Office, my Department continues to engage actively with Post Office Limited on this and will maintain strong oversight of this process.
I Wrote
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
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