Government to compensate subpostmasters who revealed Horizon IT scandal

Rishi Sunak has said a new compensation scheme will be set up in the coming months targeted at the postmasters who brought and won the landmark High Court case against the Post Office over the failings.

The 2019 ruling paved the way for millions of pounds worth of future pay-outs and led to the Court of Appeal quashing the convictions of postmasters who were wrongly accused of committing crimes.

Despite winning nearly £43 million in compensation in 2019, the group was left financially disadvantaged after having to pay significant legal costs based on a “no win, no fee” agreement with Therium – the company which funded its litigation. Due to the terms of their legal agreement each postmaster received a small fraction of the settlement – equating to around £20,000 each.

Their action meant they were also ineligible to apply to the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) which was set up to by the Post Office following the scandal to compensate postmasters who had to personally cover shortfalls in their branch’s accounts caused by the Horizon IT.

The new scheme will ensure that those who uncovered the injustice receive the same level of compensation as the postmasters who claimed through the HSS.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The Horizon IT dispute has had a devastating impact on postmasters and their families, with many losing their livelihoods or being wrongly convicted for crimes they didn’t commit.

“Without the efforts of these postmasters, this terrible injustice may have never been uncovered so it is only right that they are compensated fully and fairly.

“That is why we have set up this new compensation scheme for those who played a crucial role bringing this scandal to light, which I hope provides a measure of comfort.”