Post Office scandal latest: Law to exonerate Horizon victims could be set up in six weeks, Tory peer says

New laws to clear Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal could take as little as six weeks to set up, an advisory board member has said.

"The Government has moved very quickly and the [ITV] drama has had a galvanising effect," said Conservative peer Lord Arbuthnot, who is a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, which met on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier announced the legislation, vowing that victims would be "swiftly exonerated and compensated".

A new upfront payment of £75,000 "for the vital GLO group of postmasters" will also be introduced, Mr Sunak told the Commons.

The spotlight is also turning on IT giant Fujitsu, after its faulty accounting software Horizon helped lead to the conviction of more than 700 Post Office branch managers.

Bosses at Fujitsu have been called to answer questions from MPs on the Business and Trade Committee next week.

Meanwhile minister Esther McVey has said she wants a knighthood for Alan Bates, who has led a decades-long fight for justice for subpostmasters.

Hello and welcome

10:08 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Good morning, and welcome to the Standard's live blog on the Post Office Horizon scandal.

We'll be bringing you all the updates from throughout the day, as Rishi Sunak faces MPs at PMQs, amid mounting pressure to announce the Government's plans to tackle the long-running issue.

Minister does not rule out emergency legislation to quash all convictions

10:12 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake has said the Government is “definitely not ruling out” emergency legislation to quash all the convictions that arose during the Horizon scandal.

“We are definitely not ruling that out, but I can’t confirm that is the solution we will adopt right now,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning.

Asked why he had ruled out such an approach in a letter to Jeremy Hunt last November in which he said convictions can only be quashed as a result of a successful court appeal, he said: “I was pointing out the position at that time, of course, and that position stands today.”

When it was put to him that the position does not still stand because emergency legislation is being considered, Mr Hollinrake said: “Of course, it would be inappropriate in a letter to Jeremy Hunt to set out a policy that might happen in the future. It would still be inappropriate to say that today.”

He insisted the Government had been considering such an approach before the ITV show dramatising the Post Office scandal aired.

He added that if legislation was brought forward to overturn convictions “en bloc” it could be seen to be “interfering with the independent courts process”.

WATCH: Scandal victims demand answers from minister Kevin Hollinrake on live TV

10:14 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Some of the sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who have suffered hugely amid the Horizon scandal took Mr Hollinrake to task on BBC Breakfast this morning.

Watch the clip below.

Ex-Post Office boss may have to hand back bonuses, says minister

10:23 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Mr Hollinrake has said ex-Post Office chief Paula Vennells and other former executives involved in the Horizon scandal may have to hand back bonuses.

Ms Vennells is believed to have received nearly £3 million in performance-related perks and payments in lieu of pension.

Mr Hollinrake today backed Ms Vennells’ decision to hand back her CBE, describing the move as "the right thing".

The postal services minister stressed a public inquiry was key to identifying who was to blame for more than 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses being wrongly convicted in one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.

He told LBC Radio: “The inquiry should do its work, it should report.

“If it identifies Paula Vennells as somebody who is responsible, and I’m not saying that’s not unlikely, but I think we should go through a process.

“Then we can decide what sanctions might be available for individuals.

“That might include financial penalties or indeed it might include criminal prosecutions."

Read the full story by our political editor Nicholas Cecil here.

Heartbroken victims tell how scandal 'wrecked' their lives

10:41 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Former Post Office workers told BBC Breakfast this morning how the Horizon scandal left them in financial ruin and facing the hatred of their local communities.

Among them was Tom Hedges, who ran a Post Office in Skegness from 1994, until he was convicted of stealing £23,000.

His conviction was later overturned, but he said: "Frankly it wrecked my life, my family's life, and everybody I know's life.

"It was the most horrendous thing I've ever been through. I was very lucky in on way. I didn't go bankrupt like a lot of the other people."

Varchas Patel's father ran a Post Office in Oxfordshire until he was wrongfully prosecuted in 2011.

"His health is completely shattered and he's not yet received compensation," Mr Patel told BBC Breakfast.

He said 'wanted dead or alive' posters featuring his father's photo were circulated in his father's local community, following his conviction.

"There was intimidation," he said. "At one point [local people] even built a four-foot cross, they placed a wreath on that, outside the shop on the village green, carved in 'RIP Vipin', right outside our shop.

"They effectively saw my father as a 'Post Office robber'."

Others told how in the wake of the scandal they have struggled to get new jobs, felt "shame", and suffered "awful stigma and embarrassment and financial distress".

Read more here.

How is Fujitsu embroiled in the Post Office scandal?

11:12 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

It was faults with the Horizon IT system Fujitsu provided to the Post Office that led to scores of sub-postmasters being wrongly prosecuted and convicted for fraud.

Ministers have suggested Fujitsu should pay at least some of the compensation awarded to those sub-postmasters, while others have called for the company's existing Government contracts to be cancelled or paused in light of the Horizon failures.

Downing Street said yesterday Fujitsu would be “held accountable” legally or financially if a public inquiry finds it blundered in the scandal.

But the Prime Minister’s spokesman did not say the Government would stop awarding contracts to the company if it was found to be at fault, saying only that companies’ conduct was “in general” considered as part of the procurement process.

The scale of the Government’s involvement with Fujitsu is significant.

Since 2012, the public sector as a whole has awarded the company almost 200 contracts worth a combined total of £6.8 billion, according to analysts Tussell.

Around 43 of those contracts are still in operation, worth a total of £3.6 billion, including the contract for the Post Office Horizon system. services and, most recently, a £485 million contract with Northern Ireland’s education authority for a “school management system” awarded in December 2023.

Rishi Sunak to be grilled by MPs at PMQs from midday

11:27 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Rishi Sunak will face MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions at midday.

He is expected to be grilled on how the Government will exonerate hundreds of sub-postmasters accused of swindling money amid the Post Office Horizon scandal.Plans to clear the names of hundreds of Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal are to be announced “imminently”, the government has said.

Mr Hollinrake said the Government is “very, very close” to announcing its plans to override the convictions, with an announcement “possibly” coming as soon as this afternoon.

Pictured: Rishi Sunak all smiles as he leaves No10 on his way to PMQs

11:41 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

PMQs kicks off with Post Office announcement

12:06 , Rachael Burford

Rishi Sunak has announced the Government will introduce new legislation to make sure that those convicted as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal "are swiftly exonerated and compensated".

£75k new Post Office compensation scheme

12:15 , Rachael Burford

The PM says a new “upfront payment of £75,000 for the vital GLO group of postmasters", will be introduced by Government.

The GLO Scheme is an ex gratia claims-based programme for postmasters who were part of the action Alan Bates and Others pursued under a Group Litigation Order, and who do not have a Horizon-related conviction.

PM: Horizon scandal 'greatest miscarriage of justice' in UK history

12:19 , Rachael Burford

The Prime Minister's statement to the victims of the Post Office scandal in full.

Labour leader: 'Job of us all' to deliver justice to Post Office victims

12:23 , Rachael Burford

Sir Keir Starmer says the Post Office scandal was a "huge injustice".

"People lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood and have been waiting far too long for truth, for justice, for compensation," the Labour leader says.

He adds that it is the "job of all of us" to deliver justice for the victims.

Rwanda plan 'a gimmick', says Labour leader

12:26 , Rachael Burford

Sir Keir moves on to the Rwanda Bill.

Plans to deport some migrants to the east African country come back to Parliament next week.

The Labour leader accuses Mr Sunak of not believing in the "Rwanda gimmick".

"We should smash the gangs, process the claims and end hotel use, that's our plan, unlike the Prime Minister I believe in it," he says.

He added: "When he finally finds something he was right about, the Rwanda gimmick, he can't even take credit for it."

Sir Keir also brands the Prime Minister "Mr Nobody", saying: "Last year he started the year saying he was 'Mr Steady', then at his conference he was 'Mr Change', now he's flipped back to 'Mr More of the same', it doesn't matter how many relaunches, flip-flops he does he will always be 'Mr Nobody'."

PM 'taken hostage' by MPs over Rwanda

12:28 , Rachael Burford

Mr Sunak has been taken hostage by his own party over the Rwanda plan, Sir Keir tells PMQs.

"He knows the Rwanda gimmick won't work but he can't be honest about it because he's too scared of his own MPs, doesn't he wish he had stuck to his guns rather than allow himself to be taken hostage by his own party?"

The PM hits back: "We're debating this because we have taken a stand and we're delivering the toughest migration plan ever, to end the legal challenges and actually get flights off the ground.

"And let's be clear about this, he doesn't have a single practical idea about how to stop the boats."

SNP: Post Office victims 'never stood a chance'

12:32 , Rachael Burford

"The reality is that subpostmasters never stood a chance against the Westminster establishment, did they?," SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn says. He also notes the involvement of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in Government during the years when the Horizon scandal took place.

Mr Sunak replies: "This scandal... has actually unfolded over decades and with multiple people clearly at fault, but since 2019 and the High Court case this Government established a statutory inquiry... to uncover what went wrong, established an independent advisory board and has established three different compensation schemes paying out £150 million to over 2,500 people with now almost two thirds having received final compensation.

"But we must go further and faster, which is why we have made new announcements today."

Private jet questions

12:36 , Rachael Burford

The PM faces questions about his declaration of private jet travel expenses.

Labour MP Alex Norris asks if Mr Sunak can "very simply" say "whether he personally met Mr Akhil Tripathi in April last year prior to Mr Tripathi giving him £38,000 for the hire of a private jet?"

Mr Sunak replies: "All my declarations are made in the usual way according to the usual processes."

Urgent Question on Post Office scandal

12:43 , Rachael Burford

PMQs finishes and we jump straight to an urgent question from Tory MP David Davis.

He asks postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake if he "will make a statement on compensation and outstanding matters relating to the Post Office Horizon scandal".

'I was terrified': Wrongly convicted London Post Office managers tell their story

12:56 , Rachael Burford

Former Post Officer manager Kamran Ashraf, 46, and his wife Siema Kamran, 48, have told their moving story to the Standard.

The couple bought the Hampstead Heath Post Office in 2001 and said they felt forced to plead guilty to theft when £25,000 went missing from the business.

Mr Ashraf had just become a father to his second child when he was sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He ended up sharing a cell with a man who was convicted of racially-aggravated assault and said: "As an Asian man, I was terrified."

After decades spent living in shame and silence, ITV's drama has helped him speak out for the first time. Read his story here.

980 postmasters convicted

12:59 , Rachael Burford

Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake says 980 postmasters were convicted.

But just 93 have managed to get their convictions overturned.

The usual method for overturning a conviction would see the Criminal Cases Review Commission sending it to the Court of Appeal for a hearing.

But the unprecedented scale of the Horizon scandal means the Government is taking a legislative route rather than a lengthy court process.

Post Office should publish amount taken from branch managers

13:15 , Rachael Burford

Many Post Office branch managers were forced to "payback" money they were wrongly accused of stealing. MP Duncan Baker, who was a previously sub-postmaster in Norfolk, said the Government should force the Post Office to release the figure that was paid by the falsely accused.

It could run into the "millions of pounds", he says.

Mr Hollinrake confirms the Government will investigate the matter.

Emergency legislation 'within weeks'

13:18 , Rachael Burford

Emergency legislation to clear hundreds of wrongly convicted sub-postmasters is set to be introduced in Parliament within weeks with the aim of exonerating victims of the Horizon Scandal this year.

Downing Street expects MPs and peers to back new laws to resolve what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We hope to have this done before the end of the year.”

Mr Bates 'should get honour'

13:24 , Rachael Burford

The man who inspired the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office is in line for an honour for his work in exposing the scandal.

Cabinet minister Esther McVey said former postmaster Alan Bates should receive a knighthood “as soon as possible".

Convictions to be quashed on 'blanket basis'

13:33 , Rachael Burford

The quashing of Horizon convictions will be done on a "blanket basis", Downing Street says.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We will introduce new primary legislation to quash all convictions that were based on erroneous Horizon evidence or the egregious behaviour of the Post Office in the period in question.

"This will be done on a blanket basis, clearing people's names and making sure they access the compensation they rightly deserve as quickly as possible instead of waiting for years for the courts to wade through hundreds of convictions.

"We will in the coming days consider whether to include the small number of cases that already have been considered by the Appeal Courts.

"We will also make sure that postmasters who played a crucial role in first exposing the scandal receive the compensation they deserve.

"These individuals, known as the Group Litigation Order (GLO) cohort, who did not receive a criminal conviction but paid out considerable sums of money because of Horizon failures, will receive an upfront offer now of at least £75,000 of compensation."

Government insists ITV drama not main reason for quick action

13:57 , Josh Salisbury

The ITV drama on the Horizon IT scandal is not the reason the Government is taking the action it is to exonerate victims and pay compensation, business minister Kevin Hollinrake suggested in the Commons.

Responding to a question by independent MP Andrew Bridgen, Mr Hollinrake said: "This is not something we've just picked up. He can see the number of things we have done."

He said the Government did not expect certain aspects of resolving the issues to be "so difficult", adding: "Last November we introduced the fixed sum award.

"That's way before the TV series of course... And we started to look at different ways to overturn convictions way before the TV series was aired.

"So it's not the case that this TV series - excellent though it was - has... resulted in these different changes. It's fair to say I think the whole House and the whole country was shocked by what it's seen on the television, so it has made it easier to push certain things forward more quickly.

"But I think we would have arrived at this position anyway."

Labour: We would support honour for Post Office campaigner

14:00 , Josh Salisbury

Labour has said it would support an honour for Alan Bates for his work in bringing the Post Office scandal to light.

Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: "I think Alan Bates clearly has emerged as a hero throughout this for the way in which he has led the campaign, the fortitude and resolve he was shown given everything that has been thrown at him throughout this process.

"Obviously honours have their own independent process, but I'm sure that is something the public would regard as entirely appropriate and we would support."

Mr Bates's campaigning is the centrepiece of the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

Paula Vennells 'refused to meet me without lawyer', claims ex-minister

14:15 , Josh Salisbury

A Conservative former minister has claimed ex-Post Office chief Paula Vennells refused to meet him while he was in Government without her lawyer present.

George Freeman, a former business minister, made the claim in the Commons, while urging the Government to look at recovering money from the Post Office, as well as learning "wider lessons from this appalling scandal".

In response, business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: "I think as part of the inquiry of course, at some point we will identify who is responsible, both individuals and organisations."

But he added it would be "difficult to see how we would get money back from the Post Office".

Call for Government to review Fujitsu contracts after scandal

14:23 , Josh Salisbury

The Government should review all of its contracts with Fujitsu and "should consider suspending" if the company "won't do the right thing", Conservative former minister Mark Francois has said.

He said the company was reluctant to admit weaknesses in its systems, and called for the Government to review their contracts, suspending any where they may have fallen below standards.

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake conceded the company does have "significant Government contracts", adding: "I think it's right that we let the process take its course, that the inquiry looks at who is responsible for what... who was responsible for this between the Post Office and Fujitsu, who told who to do what.

"And I think it's only right that we have a process therefore where we do set some criteria, some parameters about who can access Government contracts.

"So those are conversations we should have when we've identified exactly who is responsible. We won't be able to do that for some months yet but we're keen to do it as soon as we possibly can."

Post Office 'should be forced to disclose possible future cases'

14:36 , Josh Salisbury

The Post Office should be made to "cough up" a list of branch managers caught up in the Horizon scandal whose cases have not yet come to light, ministers have been told.

Labour MP Clive Efford told the Commons: "We are having these new cases come forward that weren't known about before and the Post Office must have a list somewhere, they must have known those people that were held in breach of ... been through the Horizon accounting system, and it may be possible that some people are out there frightened to come forwards because they have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

"Is it possible that we could go to the Post Office and say 'look, come on, cough up and let's know who you are aware of that is out there that we haven't been contacted by to date', so that those people can then be written to, perhaps by the advisory board, and invited and encouraged to come forward and given the confidence to do so."

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake replied: "We are keen to make sure that those people, anybody who is out there, who might have suffered as a result of this scandal, is communicated with properly from someone who they trust."

Lib Dems question why Paula Vennells held Cabinet Office director role

14:53 , Josh Salisbury

Many would see Paula Vennells remaining as a Cabinet Office director as a "mistake", business minister Kevin Hollinrake has said.

The Liberal Democrats' Daisy Cooper, asked why Ms Vennells was given a role as director of the Cabinet Office in 2019 until the following year.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hollinrake said: "I think it was right and proper that the former CEO Paula Vennells handed back her CBE.

"It clearly was prior to my time in Government, but she raises some interesting points, I don't know the answer to her question. I think with hindsight many people would see that as a mistake, but very happy to take that away."

Ms Vennells was a non-executive board member at the Cabinet Office between February 2019 and March 2020.

Legislation could be set up in six weeks, advisory board membersays

16:58 , Miriam Burrell

Legislation to exonerate victims could be set up in as little as six weeks, an Horizon Compensation Advisory Board member has said.

"We’ll all want it to be as quick as it possibly can while making sure that it doesn’t make things worse, which legislation can sometimes do," Lord Arbuthnot said, according to the BBC.

"The Government has moved very quickly and the [ITV] drama has had a galvanising effect."

Acknowledging concerns that the legislation could lead to people who have committed crimes being exonerated, he said the proposals were “the only solution which is sensible in the circumstances”.

The blog is closing for today

17:45 , John Dunne

Thank you for reading ...