Ministers will provide the postmasters who were instrumental in revealing the Horizon affair a £19.5 million temporary compensation package.
The Post Office started implementing Horizon accounting software in the late 1990s, however errors in the program caused deficits in the accounts of branches.
Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office insisted that sub-postmasters make up the shortfalls and, in many cases, falsely prosecuted them for theft or false accounting.
A settlement of £43 million plus legal fees was awarded in 2019 to a number of postmasters who had initiated the initial legal case against the Post Office about Horizon.
They were disqualified for the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS), which was later established to compensate other impacted postmasters, because a large portion of this money was gobbled up by the accompanying costs of funding their case.
The interim payment made today will serve as support while the new scheme is being developed, as the government promised in March to do so to prevent the group from losing out.
Postmasters in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) group will soon receive a call from Freeths, the company that defended them in that proceeding, with application information. Once their application has been approved, they will receive reimbursement within a few weeks.
Paul Scully, minister of postal affairs, said:
In the face of extremely difficult conditions, these postmasters and their families have displayed incredible bravery.
I’m hoping that this first step gives these trailblazing postmasters some solace while reiterating our commitment to making sure they get paid fairly.
To offer knowledge and assistance with the interim payments, the government has appointed Freeths. This is because Freeths has special information of the 2019 settlement’s distribution strategy.
The ability of GLO group members to deduct reasonable legal costs as part of taking part in the compensation program has also been confirmed by the government.
The announcement made today follows significant advancements in the compensation for other postmasters impacted by the Horizon scam.
As of June 23, 1,550 (65%) of the HSS claimants who were qualified had already received an offer.
By the end of 2022, Minister Scully has given the Post Office the goal of completing all HSS offers.
As of June 27, 73 postmasters whose convictions in connection with Horizon were overturned have requested an interim settlement. A total of 67 payments have been made, and approximately £7 million in compensation has now been given to postmasters.
The Post Office and postmasters’ representatives are still making progress toward final recompense for individuals whose convictions have been reversed.