More than £1 billion paid to those wronged by Horizon scandal, Government says
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said money has now been paid out to more than 7,300 subpostmasters across all Horizon-related redress schemes.
The announcement comes just weeks after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates said the schemes had 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'.
Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made Post Office minister Gareth Thomas
Sir Alan told the Sunday Times last month that DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
Many are still awaiting compensation.
In figures published on Monday, DBT said £559 million has been paid out to 6,337 claimants from the Horizon shortfall scheme.
The data also says that of the 555 people who joined Sir Alan Bates in taking the Post Office to court between 2017 and 2019, also known as the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO), 488 have received £167 million between them.
Elsewhere, £245 million has been paid out to 463 subpostmasters who had their convictions quashed by legislation put in place last summer, and £68 million has been paid to those who have had their convictions quashed in the courts, DBT said.
Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst
Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made.
'We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.'
Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said: 'I welcome the news that over £1 billion has been paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal.
'Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives.
'However, I am also aware that more work remains to be done so that all victims receive full redress as quickly as possible and this is an absolute priority for the Post Office.
'And finally, to anyone else who thinks they may have been affected, I encourage you to come forward and apply for redress.'
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The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said money has now been paid out to more than 7,300 subpostmasters across all Horizon-related redress schemes. The announcement comes just weeks after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates said the schemes had 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'. Sir Alan told the Sunday Times last month that DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Many are still awaiting compensation. In figures published on Monday, DBT said £559 million has been paid out to 6,337 claimants from the Horizon shortfall scheme. The data also says that of the 492 subpostmasters who joined Sir Alan Bates in taking the Post Office to court between 2017 and 2019 that have not been convicted, also known as the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO), 488 have received £167 million between them. Elsewhere, £245 million has been paid out to 463 subpostmasters who had their convictions quashed by legislation put in place last summer, and £68 million has been paid to those who have had their convictions quashed in the courts, DBT said. Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made. 'We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.' Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said: 'I welcome the news that over £1 billion has been paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal. 'Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives. 'However, I am also aware that more work remains to be done so that all victims receive full redress as quickly as possible and this is an absolute priority for the Post Office. 'And finally, to anyone else who thinks they may have been affected, I encourage you to come forward and apply for redress.'
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In those cases, the government will award postmasters 80% of the initial offer made to 9 September, Labour said it will set a target of making an offer to 90% of sub-postmasters who have submitted a full claim within 40 of 31 January, £128m has been paid under the scheme, including interim the 555 members of the GLO group, 63 had criminal convictions and therefore are not eligible for this scheme but they are eligible for other compensation - depending on how their convictions are they are quashed by the court, they can apply to the Overturned Convictions Scheme. If they are overturned under legislation - the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024 which became law in May - they can go to the newer Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme. What compensation is there for people with overturned convictions? 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The Post Office scandal goes far beyond the original GLO court case and the people who wound up with criminal prosecution, some sub-postmasters poured their own savings into their businesses to make up losses that were incorrectly calculated by the computer September, the Labour government announced a new independent appeals process system called the Horizon Shortfall Scheme intended for those sub-postmasters who weren't convicted or part of the GLO court means they can appeal if they feel their financial settlement did not reflect the true extent of their losses and is administered by the Post Office but the independent appeals process will be overseen by the Department for Business. Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said he was still considering whether to transfer this scheme to the government as has received more than 4,665 eligible claims so far, according to data, external from the Department for Business and Trade. How many people are eligible for compensation overall? 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That total breaks down as:Horizon Shortfall Scheme - £559mGroup Litigation Order Scheme - £167mOverturned Convictions Scheme -£68mHorizon Convictions Redress Scheme - £245mThe amount an individual sub-postmaster receives can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of their Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC compensation payments that have been made so far range from £10,000 to "well over £1m".The government has not provided an estimate for how much compensation will be paid out in total, but it will inevitably run into the hundreds of millions on top of what has already been paid.
