Latest news with #GroupLitigationOrder
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Post Office compensation chief let go after criticism by Sir Alan Bates
The Post Office director responsible for compensating victims of the Horizon scandal has been let go amid criticism of the process by Sir Alan Bates, The Telegraph can disclose. Simon Recaldin, who headed up the Post Office's Remediation Unit, is understood to have taken voluntary redundancy and left the organisation earlier this week. His departure comes ahead of the expected publication of the first part of a public inquiry report into the scandal, which will examine the compensation process and the impact on victims. Sir Alan, whose efforts to uncover the truth about Horizon, featured in an acclaimed ITV drama, criticised the overall compensation process last month and accused the Government of presiding over a 'quasi kangaroo court'. On Friday, a Post Office spokesman said Mr Recaldin's departure was a result of a review of its operating model and a subsequent 'Post Office-wide organisational design exercise'. The Telegraph understands that Joanne Hanley, who worked at Lloyds Banking Group for more than 20 years, is now covering a large part of Mr Recaldin's previous work. Before leaving for the Post Office, Ms Hanley was a managing director and global head of client servicing, data and operations for Lloyds' corporate markets. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted between 1999 and 2015, when Fujitsu's faulty Horizon software incorrectly suggested that they were stealing money. A public inquiry into the scandal finished hearing evidence in December 2024 and the first part of the report is expected to be published in the coming weeks. Sir Alan has been highly critical of the various compensation schemes, which he described as 'quasi-kangaroo courts' in The Sunday Times last month. Speaking to The Telegraph on Friday, Sir Alan said: 'It's not so much as throwing out the people working on the scheme, it's more about throwing out the schemes – that would be my preference. 'We have got serious concerns about the transparency and the parity across the schemes.' Sir Alan, who won a High Court battle against the Post Office in 2019, said his latest compensation offer was on a 'take it or leave it' basis and amounted to less than half of his original claim. The campaigner and more than 500 other sub-postmasters who joined him in a court action have to apply for compensation through the Group Litigation Order scheme, now administered by the Government. Separately, the Post Office runs the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, set up for victims who were neither involved in the compensation scheme nor convicted as a result of false shortfalls. Mr Recaldin, who attended the inquiry for the second time in November last year to give evidence in its final phase, apologised when it emerged that staff involved in Horizon prosecutions were given jobs managing compensation claims. A former NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland manager, he took on the position as head of the then-Historical Matters Business Unit in January 2022. When asked about former Post Office investigators, he told the inquiry: 'So my regret – and it is a genuine regret – is that when I came in, in January 2022, that I didn't do that conflicts check, check back on my inherited team, and challenge that. 'And that I absolutely apologise for, because I think that's something that should have been done.' A Post Office spokesman said: 'As part of the Post Office's commitment to deliver a 'new deal for postmasters', we have undertaken a review of our operating model to ensure we have the right structure in place. 'We have been in consultation with a number of colleagues from across the business, including the Remediation Unit. As a result of this Post Office-wide organisational design exercise, Simon Recaldin has left the business.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alan Bates's 'kangaroo court' claims denied
Compensation for sub-postmasters is not being decided by a "kangaroo court", the body overseeing the payouts has said, pushing back against allegations made by Sir Alan Bates. Sir Alan, who led the campaign for justice, said he had been made a "take it or leave it" offer that was less than half the amount he was claiming. The "goal posts" had moved and claims had been "knocked back", he said, in ways he saw as unfair to sub-postmasters, many of whom have been waiting years for redress. However, the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board has rejected his criticism, saying it was following a process agreed by Sir Alan, designed to resolve the outstanding cases. Writing in the Sunday Times, Sir Alan had suggested the process was not following established standards, describing it as a "quasi-kangaroo court". The board, made up of parliamentarians and academics, issued a statement on Tuesday saying: "We do not agree [with the criticisms]." It said Sir Alan had been "closely involved" in setting up the process for deciding compensation, which included a final assessment from a "highly respected" judge. "That was what happened in Sir Alan's case," the board said. "It is only a 'take it or leave it' decision in the sense that at some stage the matter has to come to an end and someone has to decide, in order to bring fair closure to so many who have been harmed." Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT system indicated shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts. Sir Alan led a group of 555 sub-postmasters who took part in the landmark group legal action against the Post Office. Their fight for justice was brought to wider public attention last year by an ITV drama about the scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The government went on to set up a specific compensation fund to ensure these sub-postmasters received extra money to reflect the gravity of their situations, but progress has been described as slow and many are still waiting for a payout. Under the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme, claimants can either receive £75,000 or seek their own settlement. Sir Alan said the latest offer made to him amounted to 49.2% of his original claim. He said promises that compensation schemes would be "non-legalistic" had turned out to be "worthless". Post Office offer amounts to just half of my claim, says Bates Why were hundreds of Post Office workers wrongly prosecuted? How do the Post Office compensation schemes work?
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former sub-postmistress 'still fighting' for full compensation
A former County Tyrone sub-postmistress has said she is "still fighting" to get back all of the money she is owed as a result of the Post Office IT scandal. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system showed missing payments from their branch accounts. It comes after Sir Alan Bates, who led a redress campaign for victims, wrote in the Sunday Times that his compensation offer was less than half of his claim. The Department for Business and Trade said: "Anyone unhappy with their offer can have their case reviewed by a panel of experts." Fiona Elliott bought a Post Office and shop in the rural village of Clady in County Tyrone with her husband in 2005. She said that she was putting thousands of pounds of her own money to cover shortfalls logged in the system. "Now I'm still fighting to get it back," she told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme. Mrs Elliott said she first applied for compensation as a result of the scandal five years ago, but added that she has only been offered 5% of what she believes she is entitled to. She previously told the Post Office Inquiry in 2022 that her losses, including wages and the repossession of buy-to-let properties, was about £1m. "It feels like we have to beg to get it back," she said. "I lost the shop, the Post Office and then I lost buy-to-let properties as well." She added that complex cases, like hers often, face delays when it comes to compensation being paid out. Mrs Elliott said she has appealed her compensation total three times, and has now been advised to apply for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS). This scheme is for sub-postmasters who were not convicted or part of the Group Litigation Order court action, but who believe they experienced shortfalls because of Horizon. This group will be offered a fixed payment of £75,000 or can have an application assessed by the scheme. Mrs Elliott said she feels she has wasted "five years on a scheme that wasn't going to pay me out anyway". "It's just like starting over again. "You're constantly begging with them and constantly appealing and it's just going on too long." Mrs Elliott said she is not sure of how much faith she has in the scheme, and that many sub-postmasters are still waiting to be paid. "I don't think there's very many who have got their full and fair redress and I'm only sitting at a 5% offer at the minute and to get it to 100% it could be a long road," she said. She added that she believes many will take a lower offer than what they're entitled to because they don't want to fight anymore. "I'm going to keep going until the end," she added. In a statement a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "We pay tribute to all the postmasters who've suffered from this scandal, including Sir Alan for his tireless campaign for justice. "We have quadrupled the total amount paid to postmasters since entering government." The statement added that it recognises there will be an "absence of evidence given the length of time which has passed" and therefore will give the benefit of the doubt to postmasters. "Anyone unhappy with their offer can have their case reviewed by a panel of experts, which is independent of the government," it added. Why were hundreds of Post Office workers wrongly prosecuted?
STV News
25-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Sir Alan Bates calls Post Office compensation schemes as ‘Quasi-Kangaroo Courts'
Sir Alan Bates has criticised the Government's handling of compensation for victims of the Horizon IT scandal, describing the process as resembling 'quasi-kangaroo courts.' The former subpostmaster and justice campaigner said he was recently offered a compensation amount that he claims is less than half of what he initially requested. Writing in the Sunday Times, the 70-year-old said: 'The sub-postmaster compensation schemes have been turned into quasi-kangaroo courts in which the Department for Business and Trade sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses. 'Claims are, and have been, knocked back on the basis that legally you would not be able to make them, or that the parameters of the scheme do not extend to certain items.' Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted due to errors in the Horizon IT system, which falsely suggested financial shortfalls in their accounts. It is thought that more than 2,000 sub-postmasters are still waiting for compensation related to the Horizon IT scandal. / Credit: PA Many are still awaiting full compensation, despite the previous government announcing payouts of up to £600,000 for those with overturned convictions. A specific scheme – the Group Litigation Order (GLO) – was created for the 555 claimants who had sued the Post Office in the High Court from 2017 to 2019. Under this scheme, claimants can either accept a fixed £75,000 payment or negotiate a bespoke settlement. Disputed claims are reviewed by an independent panel, with a final appeal option to former High Court judge Sir Ross Cranston. Sir Alan, whose story featured in STV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, said earlier promises that the compensation process would be 'non-legalistic' have proven 'worthless.' He is now calling for an independent body to oversee compensation not only for this case but for future public sector scandals. Knighted last year for his justice efforts, Sir Alan founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA). It's believed that around 80% of claimants in Sir Alan's group have either accepted their full settlement or received the majority of it. A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade responded: 'We deeply respect all those affected by this scandal, including Sir Alan, for his determined advocacy. Since taking office, we've quadrupled total payouts to postmasters. We understand that evidence may be limited due to the passage of time, so we strive to give postmasters the benefit of the doubt. Those dissatisfied with their offer can request an independent panel review, entirely separate from government influence.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
ITV News
25-05-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Sir Alan Bates criticises Post Office compensation schemes after 'take it or leave it' offer
Sir Alan Bates has criticised the Government's handling of compensation for victims of the Horizon IT scandal, describing the process as resembling 'quasi-kangaroo courts.' The former subpostmaster and justice campaigner said he was recently offered a compensation amount that he claims is less than half of what he initially requested. Writing in the Sunday Times, the 70-year-old said: 'The sub-postmaster compensation schemes have been turned in to quasi-kangaroo courts in which the Department for Business and Trade sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses. "Claims are, and have been, knocked back on the basis that legally you would not be able to make them, or that the parameters of the scheme do not extend to certain items." Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted due to errors in the Horizon IT system, which falsely suggested financial shortfalls in their accounts. Many are still awaiting full compensation, despite the previous government announcing payouts of up to £600,000 for those with overturned convictions. A specific scheme—the Group Litigation Order (GLO)—was created for the 555 claimants who had sued the Post Office in the High Court from 2017 to 2019. Under this scheme, claimants can either accept a fixed £75,000 payment or negotiate a bespoke settlement. Disputed claims are reviewed by an independent panel, with a final appeal option to former High Court judge Sir Ross Cranston. Sir Alan, whose story featured in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, said earlier promises that the compensation process would be 'non-legalistic' have proven 'worthless.' He is now calling for an independent body to oversee compensation not only for this case but for future public sector scandals. Knighted last year for his justice efforts, Sir Alan founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA). It's believed that around 80% of claimants in Sir Alan's group have either accepted their full settlement or received the majority of it. A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade responded: 'We deeply respect all those affected by this scandal, including Sir Alan, for his determined advocacy. Since taking office, we've quadrupled total payouts to postmasters. We understand that evidence may be limited due to the passage of time, so we strive to give postmasters the benefit of the doubt. Those dissatisfied with their offer can request an independent panel review, entirely separate from government influence.'
