Thursday evening news briefing: £1bn of taxpayer money set aside for Post Office scandal compensation
Good evening. Ministers have set aside more than £1 billion of taxpayers’ money to pay for Post Office scandal compensation. Meanwhile Tory MPs have said Post Office investigators should be forced to repay their bonuses and pensions into the compensation scheme for wronged branch managers.
£1bn of taxpayer money set aside for Post Office scandal compensation
Downing Street confirmed the figure today and said it would ensure wrongly convicted subpostmasters are “compensated fairly”. Rishi Sunak yesterday announced plans for a new law to exonerate subpostmasters caught up in the Horizon IT scandal. Read more about the new law here.
Post Office investigators should pay bonuses into compensation scheme, say Tory MPs
Tory MPs have said Post Office investigators should be forced to repay their bonuses and pensions into the compensation scheme for wronged branch managers. Senior Conservatives have demanded that Downing Street acts to claw back cash The Telegraph revealed executives were awarded for every sub-postmaster convicted during the Horizon scandal.
Fraud investigator ‘forced disabled postmistress to use parcel lift’
Post Office fraud investigator Stephen Bradshaw has been accused of forcing a disabled postmistress to use a parcel lift. During an interview in August 2010, Mr Bradshaw is said to have made a former subpostmistress who was wheelchair-bound take a “tiny parcel lift” to the interview room as she could not use the stairs.
Evening Briefing: Today’s essential headlines
Sweden | The country’s answer to Childline was inundated with calls from Gen Z after senior defence officials gave a speech urging their countrymen to prepare for war.
Israel-Hamas war | Will Israel be charged with genocide at The Hague?
Post Office scandal | Five key developments from today
Essex | Medical support charity intervenes at notorious UK asylum centre
Israel-Hamas war | Iran admits seizing oil tanker boarded by masked gunmen
Newcastle | Former sub-postmistress lived ‘hand to mouth’ after Horizon scandal
Comment and analysis
Tom Harris | Will Ed Davey now take his own medicine?
Tom Stevenson | The good times are almost over for Japan
Phillip Ullmann | Immigration is destroying the British economy
Madeleine Ross | Lay off Generation Z. We work harder than Baby Boomers ever had to
Richard Tice | Sneering judges put the rights of foreign criminals ahead of your safety
World news: How Christie’s exit could help Haley overtake Trump
Nikki Haley could overtake Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary after Chris Christie’s exit from the race gave her a boost. Read more here.
Want to live to 100? This cancer surgeon has the formula
It’s all about living well, not just longer, believes bestselling author Dr Peter Attia. Here are his guiding principles.
Lose a Stone in Six Weeks
Are you looking to lose weight and keep it off in 2024? The Telegraph is launching a six-week guide to mastering your health and weight goals, including easy recipes and practical advice. Click here to sign up to Lose a Stone in Six Weeks, alongside our other Lifestyle newsletters.
Business news: Petrol prices hit two-year low after Putin shock
Petrol prices have fallen to their lowest in more than two years as tumbling oil prices filter through to the pumps. Prices have now reached the level they were at months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil soaring.
Live markets news: Microsoft surpasses Apple as world’s largest company
Editor’s choice
TikTok | Trend sparks revival at ‘Hugh Grant’s bookshop’
Fashion | The nine cult items that made M&S stylish again
Travel | ‘I gave British Airways one last chance – never again’
Sport briefing: Today’s essential headlines
Transfer | Dier leaving Tottenham to join Kane
Football | Gambia’s oxygen fails on flight to Afcon
Sven-Goran Eriksson | I have a year to live, at best
Rugby | Andy Farrell named British & Irish Lions coach for 2025 tour of Australia
Oliver Brown | Sancho’s exit shows Manchester United is no longer the place to polish talent
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Three things for you
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TV | Why the shockingly funny 30 Rock was the last US sitcom to treat us like adults
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