Post Office to Enhance Compensation for Victims of Horizon IT Scandal
The Post Office is set to improve its compensation schemes for victims of the Horizon IT scandal, extending the deadline for applications and addressing concerns about the fairness of existing payouts. The move comes in response to ongoing scrutiny following the publication of a damning inquiry report detailing the widespread wrongful prosecution of post office operators.
The compensation schemes, designed to address the financial and emotional devastation caused by faulty Fujitsu-supplied Horizon software, will remain open for applications until January 31st, providing additional time for postmasters who have yet to submit claims. This scandal saw approximately 1,000 post office operators prosecuted and convicted between 1999 and 2015,with a further 50 to 60 prosecuted but not convicted. Thousands more were wrongly held responsible for losses, many covering shortfalls from their own funds.
A report published in July by sir Wyn Williams, chair of the autonomous inquiry, revealed the “disastrous human impact” on those wrongly accused, finding that Post office bosses either knew, or should have known, the Horizon software was faulty, yet “maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate” during prosecutions. The inquiry also found evidence suggesting more than 13 people may have taken their own lives as a result of the scandal, with at least 59 more contemplating suicide.
The government has accepted all but one of the initial report’s recommendations. Kevin Kyle,a government representative,stated: “We must never lose sight of the wronged post office operators affected by the Horizon scandal,which the inquiry has highlighted so well. There is clearly more to do to bring justice to those affected. The recommendations we are accepting today will be a crucial step towards this.”
