Post Office Horizon victims offered £600,000 of compensation

The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation.

An award of £600,000 is on offer to the 86 postmasters who have had their convictions over turned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing as money looked to be missing.

Anyone who has proven they were falsely imprisoned as part of the scandal can take the payment instead of going through the full assessment of their loss. The only requirement is for the victim to prove they had their conviction overturned.

An inquiry into the scandal began last year and affected postmasters can apply for compensation.

But that process “can take time because these things are complicated”, business minister Kevin Hollinrake said in the Commons on Monday.

Mr Hollinrake added this is “a much quicker way to compensation”.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

“If you think your claim is worth more than £600,000 then you can still go through the normal route.

More on Post Office Scandal

Widower of Post Office worker jailed over theft loses appeal to clear wife’s name

Post Office Horizon IT scandal: Victim ‘couldn’t tell dad she would be okay before he died’ as she fights for compensation

Post Office scandal inquiry urges government to take action and change law

Related Topics: Post Office scandal

“The good thing about this is because some people will inevitably take this route, it will take more people out of the queue so the full assessment will take less time as well. It’s a really win-win on every level for people who have suffered.”

Accepting the offer will avoid “months” of assessments and engaging lawyers, Mr Hollinrake said. Instead, it will be “a quick and easy process”.

Advertisement

How long the offer is open for has yet to be worked out by government.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

2:26

Black Post Office workers who were falsely accused in the Horizon scandal were classified using a racial slur, according to documents obtained by campaigners.

Mr Hollinrake was asked, by Sarah Jones shadow minister for industry and decarbonisation, if compensation would be higher if victims go through the full scheme.

No sum would be enough for what the prosecuted staff went through, Mr Hollinrake said. “If you’ve suffered, if you’ve spent time in jail, if you lost your house, if your marriage has failed, all those things – if those things have happened to you, no amount of money will ever be enough.”

Many postmasters are yet to seek an overturning of their conviction. More than 700 postmasters, who managed post offices, were wrongly convicted.