Westminster must deliver real justice to the victims of the Post Office scandal

by Marion Fellows
Posted on
7 months ago
2 min read

From 1999 to 2015, the Post Office pursued legal action against 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses, equivalent to an average of one case per week, relying on data from the Horizon computer system.

Despite numerous individuals asserting their innocence and claiming to have raised concerns about Horizon, some ended up incarcerated for charges such as false accounting and theft.

However, as of now, only 93 convictions have been overturned. Over decades of failures and cover-ups by Labour, Liberal, and Tory Ministers, to deliver justice to sub-postmasters who were blamed for accounting errors which led to severe financial hardships and in some cases suicide.

The SNP has been pushing for justice for sub-postmasters for over a decade and has led the campaign in the UK to condemn the actions of the Post Office.

The SNP have long been condemning the actions of Post Office Limited, including Horizon, and called for the UK Government to review a legal strategy which wasted millions just months before they first conceded fault and gave up legal defence against these postmasters.

After decades of failures and cover-ups by successive Westminster governments, hundreds of people who worked hard for local communities have been made to fight far too long for justice – there must be no more delays from this UK Government.

This scandal has wrecked lives and damaged livelihoods for decades. The Westminster parties cannot carry on with the approach they’ve taken for years in hoping they can eventually brush this under the carpet.

We need to see urgency from the UK government to deliver compensation and full exoneration to all victims of this stunning miscarriage of justice – without affecting current Postmaster remuneration, and a guarantee that those responsible will be held to account.

Many sub-postmasters expect they’ll never see the compensation they deserve – it’s up to the Tories and this UK government to ensure they do.

Sub-postmasters provide crucial services and are a bedrock of our communities – their role should never be understated or undermined.

Westminster must move swiftly to ensure those affected by the Horizon Post Office scandal are compensated and exonerated for crimes they’ve been wrongfully accused of.