Post Office welcomes Government funding being made available for final compensation for overturned convictions in ‘Horizon cases’

• Government and Post Office working together to finalise arrangements for settlement negotiations to start as soon as possible
• Ahead of final compensation, interim payments of up to £100,000 continue to be made

Post Office today welcomed the Government’s announcement that it is making funding available to facilitate final compensation payments for people whose convictions have been overturned where Horizon evidence was essential to the prosecution.

Post Office is working with Government to finalise the arrangements that will enable final settlements negotiations to begin as soon as possible.

Ahead of final compensation, interim payments of up to £100,000 have been provided for the majority of people affected, following earlier Government funding support in July. These payments continue to be offered as further convictions are overturned.

Post Office Chief Executive, Nick Read, said:

“Whilst we cannot change the past, it is right that meaningful compensation is provided to victims of the Horizon scandal as fast as possible. Many former postmasters have waited a long time for justice and Post Office welcomes the Government’s announcement that funding is being made available for compensation that recognises the impact on the lives of those affected.”

Note to Editors

Appeals against convictions in historical Post Office prosecutions began following the ‘Horizon Issues’ Judgment in group civil litigation in 2019. To date 72 convictions have been overturned in appeals unopposed by the Post Office. This number includes one acquittal at Southwark Crown Court (on 18 November 2021) in which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) acted as prosecutor, not 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.