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The Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance’s Sir Alan Bates has written to the Prime Minister twice in the past month, calling for faster compensation payments for postmasters impacted by the Post Office scandal. Sir Keir Starmer has since responded to the letter, stating that the government’s goal is to provide fast redress for victims and that they are committed to this endeavor. The hearing is considering fast and fair redress for victims of the Post Office scandal and a key point for Sir Alan is that the government needs to set deadlines for compensation to be paid. Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT accounting system made it look like money was missing from branch accounts.
Janet Skinner, falsely imprisoned as a result of the scandal, is still waiting for her compensation, and her claim has been in the system for over two years. Skinner found the compensation process to be more like a “battle” because of the stress it has caused her. She was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2007 over an alleged shortfall of £59,000 from her Post Office branch in Bransholme, Hull. The stress of the scandal left her with neurological problems, resulting in paralysis in parts of her body. Skinner has been asked for a fifth time for a medical report proving that her disability results from the scandal.
The government announced last week that £1.8 billion was set aside for people affected by the Horizon IT scandal, on top of various compensation schemes already announced. Campaigners criticized the time it is taking for victims to receive compensation. Sir Alan reiterated that he has twice written to the Prime Minister in the past month and hopes compensation would be paid in full by March next year. As of 31 October, approximately £438 million had been paid to more than 3,100 claimants across the four compensation schemes. The Prime Minister’s office did not want to set an “arbitrary cut-off” date which could lead some claimants to miss out, but each postmaster eligible should receive substantial redress by March 2025.
The Horizon Shortfall compensation scheme, overseen by the Post Office, will compensate sub-postmasters who were not convicted or part of the Group Litigation Order court action but had experienced shortfalls because of Horizon. David Enright of a law firm representing hundreds of Post Office victims told MPs there is no funding for legal advice at the start, with claimants presented with a “DIY questionnaire.” Then, six to nine months later, there is a request for more information that often involves answering 50-150 further questions, which can only be answered by a forensic accountant. Another lawyer said that some of his sub-postmaster clients were being asked to provide proof of losses in claims that are 20 years old, which they cannot do because the evidence had previously been seized by the Post Office and not given back
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