Long-trailed legislation to quash the wrongful convictions of hundreds of post office operators involved in the Post Office Scandal has now been published ahead of a parliamentary debate
The Post Office (Horizon System) Offence Bill will automatically quash convictions where during the period 1996-2018, a Post Office employee was convicted of an offence relating to the Post Office, as long as once of those convictions was false accounting, theft, fraud, or similar, involved the Horizon system, and has not already been considered by the Court of Appeal.
The Bill has been criticised for undermining the separation between Parliament, which makes the law, and the Courts, which uphold it. Critics argue that the proper approach is to provide the resources for convictions to be quashed in Court; legislative exonerations risk undermining the rule of law, setting a dangerous precedent.
A further criticism is its limitation, applying only to convictions in England and Wales, with devolved parliaments responsible for their own approaches. Scotland’s Justice Secretary Angela Constance said this restriction to England and Wales was ‘extremely disappointing’ and has called for UK-wide legislation, supplying that the Scottish government would introduce their own otherwise. As of now, six former sub-postmasters in Scotland have had their convictions quashed individually through the courts.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commented that the ‘legislation marks an important step in finally clearing their names.’ The legislation will largely be administered by the Department for Business and Trade, with the government aiming to pass the bill by the end of July.
Separate from the Bill are three financial compensation schemes, designed to compensate those convicted, including legal bills for those who brought the landmark case demonstrating Horizon’s unreliability.
The Horizon system, used by Post Office branches to run their accounts, was the basis for more than 700 convictions over almost 15 years. It was revealed that the system was not fit for purpose, generating incorrect shortfalls and false errors. This has been described as “the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice”.
An inquiry into the Horizon Scandal, led by Sir Wyn Williams, is ongoing. It is expected to conclude later this year.
