The Post Office is taking extensive action to ensure that miscarriages of justice are fully addressed through the Courts and that fair, full and final redress is provided.
On 13 March 2024, Government introduced legislation to automatically quash convictions relating to the Horizon Scandal.
Government has introduced legislation to automatically quash convictions relating to the Horizon Scandal. The Government’s press release can be found here and the legislation has been published here: Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
Post Office fully supports the Government’s proposals to speed up exoneration of people with wrongful convictions and provide swifter redress for all victims of the Horizon IT scandal. Our sole aim is that every victim receives, as soon as possible, the justice and redress that they have too long awaited.
Convictions
Post Office has identified a total of 700 convictions in cases it prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 in which Horizon computer evidence might have featured. We have contacted the majority, although there remain 25 people we are still unable to trace despite continuing strenuous efforts to do so. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has also, separately, contacted people who had not yet responded to Post Office. Details can be found on the CCRC website here.
The total number of all overturned convictions as of 29 February 2024 is 103. This includes ten cases in which Post Office was not the prosecutor.
More than £40.57 million has been paid in compensation to date, including 37 full and final settlements.
You can find more information about assistance for appealing convictions here.
Eligibility for redress
Anyone who has a successfully appealed against a Horizon-related conviction can apply for redress via arrangements Post Office has put in place for this. This includes administrators acting on behalf of estates for any person who has sadly passed away.
Support for legal costs
To ensure that people affected are advised and supported throughout the process, Post Office strongly recommends that they seek independent legal advice. Post Office pays all reasonable legal fees and expert fees (e.g. medical, accountancy or property valuation) separately to redress.
Payments
Up-front option
On 18 September 2023, the Government announced that anyone who was wrongly convicted and has had their conviction overturned as it was reliant on Horizon evidence, will be given the option of settling their claim for redress for an up-front sum of £600,000, without the need to bring a formal claim to Post Office. This is an entirely voluntary choice and anyone who does not want to accept this offer can continue with the existing process where each claim is assessed on its specific facts and individual circumstances.
Formal claim assessment option
For people who choose to have their claims assessed interim payments are provided, ahead of final settlements, to ensure that money reaches them as soon as possible.
A payment of up to £163,000 is made as soon as possible following the overturning of convictions. To encourage early submission of claims, once the Post Office receives a full claim from someone with an overturned conviction, it will top up their interim redress to £450,000.
See the tables below for more detailed information about progress of appeals and redress. These are updated monthly.
Interim payments
As of 31 March 2024, both initial and further interim payments have been made to 96 claimants. Interim payments are made as quickly as possible after the overturning of convictions.
| Number of convictions overturned |
103
|
| Number of claimants applying for initial interim payments [1] |
99
|
| Number of initial interim payments made [2] |
96
|
Full and Final settlements
We are providing victims with compensation which reflects the human costs suffered as well as financial impacts.
| Claimant total |
103
|
| Fully settled claims |
37
|
| Total payments for full and final compensation |
£22.9m
|
| Claims to be fully settled |
66
|
| Total compensation open claims, in advance of full and final settlement |
£17.6m
|
| Total of all compensation to date for people with Horizon-related overturned convictions (includes interim, partial and final payments) |
£40.57m
|
Progress of Court appeals of convictions
As at 31 March 2024. Please refer to footnotes for further information.
| Total relevant convictions (1999 – 2015) [3] |
700
|
| Number of completed appeal cases [4] |
149
|
| Number of convictions overturned [5] |
92
|
| Number of convictions upheld/ cases refused permission to appeal or withdrawn from Court [6] |
57
|
| Number of cases currently with Appeal Courts [7] |
9
|
| Number of people with relevant convictions not yet contacted - so far unable to be located and require further tracing [8] |
25
|
References
[1] Number of claimants who have submitted one or more applications to Post Office for interim payments.
[2] Number of claimants who have received initial or further interim payments, prior to acceptance of settlement offer(s).
[3] Convictions in cases prosecuted by Post Office, in which Horizon evidence may have featured. The total does not include prosecutions by other agencies, namely Crown Prosecution Service, Dept. for Work and Pensions, Procurator Fiscal in Scotland, Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland and Royal Mail Group. Post Office is engaged with other prosecutors and has shared the limited historical records it holds on such prosecutions. Please note the number has reduced from 704 previously reported on this site due to further information being received.
[4] Includes convictions overturned/ upheld, cases refused permission by the Court to appeal and cases formally withdrawn from the Court and those that Post Office is aware have not been referred for appeal by the CCRC.
[5] The total number of overturned convictions in cases prosecuted by Post Office. This number excludes ten overturned convictions in which Post Office was not the prosecutor and the Crown Prosecution Service, Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland (PPSNI), or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) was the appeal respondent.
[6] Includes convictions upheld by the Court, cases refused permission to appeal and cases formally withdrawn from the Court. Number includes cases that Post Office is aware have not been referred for appeal by the CCRC.
[7] Total number of cases at Southwark Crown Court and Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) awaiting Court hearings/determinations.
[8] Number of people, with relevant convictions, untraceable to date and who are subject to further tracing to contact them.