Justice secretary examines how to clear names of Post Office workers caught up in Horizon IT scandal

The justice secretary is examining how to exonerate hundreds of subpostmasters who were wrongfully convicted during the Horizon IT scandal.

Alex Chalk is trying to determine whether the Post Office can be removed from the appeals process – meaning the Crown Prosecution Service would take over, The Sunday Times reports.

Hundreds of people were held liable for financial discrepancies thrown up by faulty Fujitsu accounting software that made it appear as though money was missing from their branches.

This led to more than 700 convictions, criminal prosecutions and – in some cases – prison sentences. Dozens of victims died before they saw justice.

Momentum in the long-running scandal has been building after ITV broadcast a drama documenting the legal fight led by subpostmaster Alan Bates.

Pressure is also mounting on Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who was postal affairs minister when issues with the Horizon system started to emerge.

The Sunday Times says Mr Bates wrote to Sir Ed 12 years ago – and had warned that the accounting scandal could leave taxpayers exposed to “astronomical” costs.

It has also been revealed a frustrated Mr Bates cut off correspondence with the politician because he had received assurances from the Post Office that its systems were robust.

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has defended Sir Ed, posting on X: “Ed has said how much he regrets that the Post Office was lying to him, just like it was to everyone else.

“He’s experienced more than his fair share of tragedy in his life, I know he feels the pain of those affected by this scandal very deeply.”

The scandal is expected to be a focus for many MPs when they return from their parliamentary recess on Monday.

It’s been reported that Conservative MP Sir David Davis will call for Post Office managers involved in Horizon to be named and prosecuted, and for Fujitsu to lose its government contracts.

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On Friday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it is investigating the Post Office over potential offences including fraud, perjury and perverting the course of justice.

While two people have been interviewed under caution so far, no arrests have been made.

Separately, more than 820,000 people have signed a petition calling for Paula Vennells – the former Post Office chief executive depicted in the ITV mini-series – to lose her CBE.

‘Net may be closing’ on those responsible

Nick Wallis – a journalist who authored a book on the Horizon scandal and consulted on the making of Mr Bates vs The Post Office – has told Sky News that “the net may be closing” on those responsible for the wrongful prosecutions.

He described the public reaction to the TV drama as “phenomenal” – especially considering that 50 more potential victims are believed to have come forward since it aired.

Mr Wallis added: “We had no idea that the drama would touch so many people… It hit a nerve with the general public.

“It’s shone a light on this story – something I’ve been working on for more than a decade.”

However, Mr Wallis warned that following past scandals – involving infected blood, Hillsborough and Windrush – few criminal charges were brought against those responsible.

“Based on our society’s track record of being able to prosecute individuals or corporations, I’m not holding out much hope,” he said.

Compensation for postmasters in spotlight

Although the government announced a new fixed sum payment last year for victims of the scandal, critics have claimed the compensation doesn’t go far enough – and is taking too long to be distributed.

Christopher Head, who became a postmaster when he was 18 years old, was among those who faced a criminal investigation after he was accused of stealing tens of thousands of pounds.

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Mr Head told Sky News the compensation offered by the Post Office to victims is “not even close” to adequate.

“The amounts of money people have lost… their business, their home, they couldn’t get a job because they had a criminal conviction,” he said.

“Then you put it alongside the stigma and the reputational damage and the distress and those kinds of things. You can’t really put a value on it.”

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