
Post Office scandal: Government must 'step up' on redress scheme
A Surrey sub-postmaster has said the government must "do a considerable amount more" to compensate Post Office scandal victims.Chirag Sidhpura took over Farncombe Post Office in 2013 and says he was falsely accused of stealing more than £50,000 due to the faulty Horizon IT system.He told BBC Radio Surrey that he was offered 26% of his original compensation claim and still had to "battle and fight" for the rest.The government said it had paid out over £1bn to postmasters and launched an appeal process for anyone unhappy with their offer.
Between 1999 and 2015 the Horizon IT system incorrectly made it appear that money was missing from branch accounts.More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted, but many victims are still waiting for financial redress.Mr Sidhpura's comments come the same day as the Public Accounts Committee said in a report that many wrongly-accused or convicted sub-postmasters were yet to receive "fair and timely" redress.
Mr Sidhpura put "hundreds of hours of work" into his compensation claim, he said, but the Post Office "still want more and more evidence".The father of three has now retained a solicitor but has "no idea how long it's going to take" to resolve his claim, and is calling for the government to "step up"."I'm just not sure how much more evidence we can provide," Mr Sidhpura said.
'Recognise the suffering'
The Post Office said Mr Sidhpura "should have received a letter explaining how to appeal the offer" of compensation.It added it was "sincerely sorry for past failings" and "focused, alongside government, on paying redress as quickly as possible".The Department for Business and Trade said: "We pay tribute to all the postmasters including Chirag who have suffered from the Horizon scandal and recognise the suffering that this has caused."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment 92-year-old is arrested at home over murder and rape of a pensioner almost 60 years ago
This is the moment a 92-year-old man was arrested at his home for the alleged rape and murder of a woman nearly six decades ago. Police bodyworn camera footage captured pensioner Ryland Headley being detained on suspicion of killing of Louisa Dunne in what was Britain's oldest cold case review. A trial into the murder of the 75-year-old in Bristol on June 27, 1967 remains ongoing. But after the video of Headley's arrest was shown to the jury, Avon and Somerset Police released the clip publicly - sharing what are the first images of the defendant. In the footage, a startled-looking Headley asks cops 'where are you getting this from?' as he is arrested. The video starts with officers turning up to his home in Ipswich, Suffolk, and asking if Headley can open up his door. He responds by asking 'who are you?' and then when he is told it's the police, he states: 'No, no. You can't come now. What do you want to come in for?' The female police officer adds: 'I'll explain, because it's a bit sensitive so we'd like to come in to speak to you properly please.' Headley tells cops: 'I've just got up and I'm very sick. I'm very sick. Not well at all.' The startled defendant then asks: 'What is this about?' The officer responds: 'I'll tell you inside because we don't want other people hearing. So can we just come inside and get you seated?' A second officer is heard telling him: 'I'm here today because I'm arresting you on suspicion of the rape and murder of Louisa Dunne, which happened in Bristol, in June 1967. 'The reason I'm arresting you is because the police have investigative material that indicates that you were responsible for that rape and murder of Mrs Dunne, which happened at Britannia Road in eastern Bristol, June 1967.' Throughout, Headley repeats 'yeah' at regular intervals. The officer then reads him his rights and Headley adds: 'Wait, wait. Where are you getting all this from?' The officer states: 'We have investigative information, so we have material that suggests that it is yourself and we need to arrest you and take you into custody so we can conduct an interview with you. 'So we can hear your events and interview you about it.' The trial was told Louisa's body was found by neighbours the morning after the horror attack in 1967. However, in the decades that followed no-one was brought to justice over her death, Bristol Crown Court heard. Her skirt, along witih other items from the scene, were kept in storage and were recently reexamined to try and make a breakthrough. Jurors have been told there is 'extremely strong' scientific evidence to suggest semen samples found on the skirt came from her alleged murderer. Giving evidence, a forensic scientist told jurors that recent direct DNA matches linking semen samples from Mrs Dunne's pubic hair and the blue skirt suggested they were 'one billion times' more likely to have come from Headley than from anyone else. An earlier statement from pathologist Dr Albert Hunt, who carried out Mrs Dunne's autopsy, revealed the cause of her death as asphyxiation due to strangulation and pressure on the mouth. Headley, of Ipswich, Suffolk, denies raping and murdering Ms Dunne in June 1967. The trial continues.


The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Dark forces are exploiting our soft-touch borders – it's time to take back control before it's too late
Putin boat in NATO leaders met yesterday to discuss global threats, including from Russia and China. Yet there's one massive security disaster that the British Government has been sleep-walking into. 1 Suspected terrorists, sex offenders and drug gang leaders have all arrived here illegally on small boats. And now security chiefs fear hostile states are taking advantage of Britain's inability to protect its own borders to sow division. The Left likes to dismiss the seriousness of illegal migrant crossings. Yet there is now mounting evidence that dark forces abroad want to weaponise the epic failure of our soft touch system to unpick the fabric of our society. Some illegal migrants are now effectively state-sponsored by rogue regimes like Russia and Iran, whose agents have provided support and false papers. The Home Office insists it is aware of the problem. Project beer ON the day he entered Number 10, Sir Keir Starmer promised to 'tread more lightly' on the lives of voters. How does he square that with the idea of draconian restrictions on booze ads? You'd think Labour's fun police would have learned their lesson after the ban on smoking in pub gardens went up in a flame of public outrage. Sun probe uncovers asylum seekers in hotels linked to string of rape cases Instead, the constant desire to interfere suggests we will never be free of the Nanny-knows-best attitude which infects our public health bodies. Labour now finds itself in the bizarre position of wanting to give the vote to 16-year-olds — yet barring anyone over 18 from watching an advert for lager online, or before 9pm on TV. What on earth will they consider next? A ban on eating sausages? A crackdown on cake? Life in Britain should be about freedom and choice. This latest crazy plan is enough to drive anyone to drink. Steely resolve IT'S a current madness that in the dash to Net Zero, Britain bans new drilling for fossil fuels while China burns billions of tons of coal to make cheap steel for wind turbines — which it then sells to us. But welcome changes now mean the Chinese can be cut out of Government contracts in critical areas of national security. That's not only a major boost for British steel and other UK firms. It's also a vital step towards keeping one of our biggest security threats at arm's length.


South Wales Guardian
21 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
UK energy and steel to be classed as ‘nationally important' in procurement shift
Public sector buyers would be able to avoid normal requirements to consider overseas bidders and instead give priority to domestic firms under the plans set out in a consultation launching on Wednesday. Ministers would be allowed to designate sectors such as steel, energy and cyber nationally important in order to help grant them more of the £400 billion spent on procurement each year, the Government said. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the proposals would ensure British industry was supported and 'boost growth'. 'The new rules being considered will give us the power to protect our national industries, ensuring more money goes to them as we buy goods and services in Government,' he said. The Government said the new rules will also ensure buyers exclude companies that cannot provide evidence of a good record of paying companies in their supply chains promptly and on time in a move to protect small businesses. New guidance will also require Government departments to consider British steel products for the £725 billion of UK infrastructure spending over the next 10 years announced in the industrial strategy on Monday. UK Steel welcomed the proposals, describing them as 'unequivocally positive news' that would help safeguard jobs in the industry. Director general of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said: 'These changes rightly recognise the strategic importance of steelmaking to national security and the vital role of resilient domestic supply chains.' It comes as the industry faces uncertainty over the US-UK trade deal finalised this month, which slashed tariffs on aerospace and auto sectors but left levies on steel standing at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed. The Government has said both sides have agreed to 'make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products' in ongoing talks.