The convictions of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal will have their convictions cleared following new legislation introduced today (Wednesday 13 March).

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill will quash convictions brought about by erroneous Horizon evidence, and extend to England and Wales.

Under the Bill, convictions will be automatically cleared if they meet the following criteria:

• Were prosecuted by the Post Office or Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
• Were for offences carried out in connection with Post Office business between 1996 and 2018.
• Were for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.
• Were against sub-postmasters, their employees, officers, family members or direct employees of the Post Office working in a Post Office that used the Horizon system software.

The UK government said that it will continue to work closely with the devolved Scottish and Northern Irish governments as they develop their own plans.

“Regardless of where or how convictions are quashed, redress will be paid to victims across the whole of the UK on the same basis,” the government also assured.

Under the Bill, impacted sub-postmasters in England and Wales will receive an interim compensation payment, with the option of immediately taking a fixed and final offer of £600,000 to help them with rebuilding their lives.

The government also confirmed it will bring forward increased financial redress for postmasters who were not convicted, or part of legal action against the Post Office, but still suffered considerably due to Horizon failures.

These individuals, called the “Horizon Shortfall Scheme cohort,” will have the option to receive a fixed sum payment of £75,000.

Those who have already settled for a lower sum will have their redress topped up to this level, bringing them in line with the approach taken for members of the Group Litigation Order group of postmasters.

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The Horizon IT scandal has been called one of, if not the biggest, miscarriages of justice in the UK.

Dating back to the 1990s, it resulted in hundreds of post office operators being wrongfully prosecuted for theft, fraud, and false accounting due to faulty software. In total, around 900 people have been prosecuted.

Numerous attempts have been made throughout the years by sub-postmasters and campaigners to receive justice.

In 2019, and after over 500 sub-postmasters successfully took legal action against the Post Office, it was agreed that £58 million would be paid out — though the legal fees significantly reduced this number.

Speaking on the new Bill, prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “I want to pay tribute to all the postmasters who have shown such courage and perseverance in their fierce campaign for justice, and to those who tragically won’t see the justice they deserve.

“While I know that nothing can make up for what they’ve been through, today’s legislation marks an important step forward in finally clearing their names.

“We owe it to the victims of this scandal who have had their lives and livelihoods callously torn apart, to deliver the justice they’ve fought so long and hard for, and to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”