Sunak pledges to ‘do everything we can to make it right’ after Post Office Horizon scandal

Rishi Sunak says the government “should do everything we can” to make the Post Office Horizon scandal right.

He said that ministers are meeting today to discuss the issue.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and postal minister Kevin Hollinrake will discuss the scandal in the wake of renewed scrutiny following the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which tells how former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were held liable by the Post Office for financial discrepancies thrown up by its computerised accounting system.

Meanwhile, the petition to remove former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’s CBE reached a new milestone overnight, just four days after the final episode of the drama. At the time, Ms Vennells oversaw the organisation and routinely denied problems with the system.

More than a million are now asking for her honour to be reconsidered.

The true story behind drama on Horizon IT scandal

There are growing calls for the government to quash all the prosecutions of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses, with some even demanding the Post Office be suspended from bringing its own prosecutions.

Speaking in Accrington, Mr Sunak said: “These things obviously started a very long time ago, and it’s right that they’re looked at properly and the stories are appalling.

“People were treated absolutely appallingly. That’s wrong. And we should do everything we can to make it right.”

Mr Sunak said that, as chancellor, he approved the funding for the compensation to be paid to victims of the scandal.

Conservative MP Sir David Davis told Sky News that, as the convictions were based on the fact the “Post Office lied”, every single one is “unsafe” and that should be used to “turn them all over”.

He also called for a criminal investigation into the Post Office and Fujitsu, which provided the software.

Lord James Arbuthnot, a former Tory MP who campaigned on the scandal, told Sky News “the idea that a corporation which itself is being investigated by the police should start prosecuting people is absurd”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Crown Prosecution Service – which he used to run – should take over the cases the Post Office was involved in, so there is an “independent prosecutor looking at these cases in the future”.

What is the Horizon scandal?

The petition to remove Ms Vennells’s honour is addressed to Sir Chris Wormald, the chair of the Cabinet Office’s forfeiture committee.

The petition says: “Evidence has been produced that the Post Office engaged in a mass cover-up which led to the wrongful prosecution of 550 Post Office staff, many of whom were subsequently jailed, bankrupted and in some cases, sadly took their own lives.

“Having been handed a CBE for services to the Post Office, and moved out into other senior positions in government and healthcare, it is only right that this award is now withdrawn through the process of forfeiture.”

Mr Sunak would “strongly support” the forfeiture committee if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Ms Vennells’s CBE in the wake of the Horizon scandal, the prime minister’s spokesman said.

While Sir David said that if he was in Ms Vennells’s position, he would have “given up my CBE”.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak told the BBC the government is “looking at” the option of exonerating the Post Office branch managers involved in the scandal.

The prime minister confirmed that Mr Chalk is considering ways of helping to clear the names of those convicted in what has been called the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Sir Keir wants the convictions looked at “en masse” said his party would support legislation on the matter if the government brought it forward – or alternatively it could be brought before the Court of Appeal.

Bim Afolami, who is the economic secretary to the Treasury, admitted the “legal process has taken too long”.

Lord Arbuthnot added that he wrote to David Cameron when he was prime minister about Horizon, but was not aware if he actually saw the communications.

He added that “no party” and “none of us politicians” come out well from the scandal – saying calls on former postal minister Sir Ed Davey to answer questions are a “red herring”.

The Metropolitan Police also confirmed that it is investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences after the handling of the Horizon IT scandal.

The organisation’s pursuit of branch managers led to more than 700 prosecutions, criminal convictions and, in some cases, prison sentences.

Reports suggest that since Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, 50 new potential victims have approached lawyers.

A public inquiry into the scandal is also ongoing.

Ms Vennells has previously said she is “truly sorry” for the “suffering” caused to sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of offences.

Sunak pledges to ‘do everything we can to make it right’ after Post Office Horizon scandal

Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge