By Ben Kerrigan-
The UK government has announced emergency legislation aimed at swiftly exonerating and compensating victims of the post office scandal who were wrongly convicted.
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced emergency legislation to exonerate more than 700 people convicted between 2000 and 2014 of theft or false accounting in private prosecution cases brought by the Post Office.
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The announcement came after an ITV drama about the sub-postmasters’ plight captured the public imagination.
Postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake(pictured) revealed that the new law would apply to England and Wales, while the Scottish government has also announced similar plans for those convicted in Scotland, which operates under a separate legal system.
The scandal, which spans over 16 years from 1999 to 2015, saw the Post Office prosecute hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses based on the faulty Horizon IT system.
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A faulty software program, designed by Japanese tech firm Fujitsu, incorrectly flagged losses, leading to false accusations of theft or false accounting against sub-postmasters. Despite more than 900 convictions, only 93 have been overturned to date.
The emergency legislation, set to be introduced in the coming weeks, follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to clearing the names of those previously convicted and compensating them under the new law.
The government aims to complete the process of overturning convictions by the end of 2024.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Minister Kevin Hollinrake acknowledged the scale of the injustice, describing it as a “brutal and arbitrary exercise of power” that affected hundreds. He highlighted that evidence emerging from the ongoing public inquiry into the scandal indicated incompetence and malevolence on the part of the Post Office.
The decision to overturn convictions through an Act of Parliament is unprecedented and raises constitutional issues around the independence of the courts. However, the government asserts that the move is necessary to rectify the systemic failures that led to the wrongful prosecutions.
Compensation and Legal Implications
The compensation scheme includes a one-off £75,000 payment for the 555 ex-postmasters who were part of the group court case, led by Alan Bates. The announcement has been welcomed by those affected, providing them with the option to decide whether to accept the payment as fair compensation.
Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, whose story inspired the recent ITV drama “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” cautiously welcomed the development but emphasized the need to scrutinize the fine details of the legislation.
While the full details of the law have not been published, Downing Street clarified that convictions would not be lifted until former sub-postmasters and postmistresses signed a declaration asserting their innocence.
Minister Hollinrake highlighted the importance of the declaration in preventing guilty individuals from benefiting from public money. He stated that anyone falsely signing the document would be subject to prosecution for fraud.
The government is also considering reviewing whether people whose convictions were upheld after an appeal can be overturned by the new law. Additionally, efforts are underway to work with administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure sub-postmasters in those nations can also be cleared.
Public Reaction and Constitutional Concerns
The announcement comes after a heightened public awareness of the scandal, fueled in part by the recent ITV drama series that brought the issue to the forefront. Questions have been raised about why it took a television program to prompt action on a problem known for over a decade.
While the compensation and exoneration have been broadly welcomed, concerns about potential constitutional ramifications have been raised. The move to overturn decisions made by independent judges has sparked debate about the potential impact on the independence of the courts.
Lord Ken MacDonald, former director of the Crown Prosecution Service, expressed concern over the government’s decision, describing it as “parliament seizing from the courts and from the judges the right to say who is guilty and who is not guilty.” The government, aware of the risk to the constitutional convention, maintains its commitment to addressing the systemic failures in the legal process.
It remains to be seen how the fine details of the legislation will address the complexities of the Post Office scandal and ensure a fair and just resolution for the victims who suffered the consequences of the faulty Horizon IT system.
The government’s commitment to completing the process by the end of 2024 adds a sense of urgency to rectifying the grave injustices inflicted upon innocent individuals caught in the crossfire of a flawed prosecution system.
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