13 March 2024 , 22:21
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Campaigning sub-postmaster Alan Bates has slammed the Government for prioritising laws to overturn wrongful convictions over paying out compensation.
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted because of glitches in the Horizon IT system, in the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history. A new law aimed at quashing the wrongful convictions was introduced in Parliament yesterday.
But Alan, 69, says it is more important victims who lost out financially get their money back. Many victims were left penniless after using their life savings to plug gaps left in their accounts when the system made it look like money was missing from their Post Office branch.
Alan said: “People have been waiting for years. They want to put an end to this and move on and they can’t while this is still lingering. I don’t think the government truly understand it from a victim’s perspective.
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“It sounds good to say we are going to overturn all these wrongful convictions. But there are victims who have been fighting for years who are still waiting for their financial redress. The real priority is getting the money out to the victims, and that’s just not happening.”
Alan – played by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office – added that even now, the Government is wasting time rather than paying out. He said: “They’re prepared to spend money on lawyers arguing the toss rather than give the money to the victims.
“They might be arguing over a £500 claim, something that the sub-postmasters are claiming. Then the Government’s lawyers will spend a couple of days arguing the point and charging two or three days’ work which could be thousands of pounds just to try and save £500. They should just get on and pay the claims.”
The new law, expected to be on the statute books by July, should include a timeframe for payments, according to Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the Business and Trade committee. Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said redress would be provided “as promptly as we can”.
The new bill will exonerate those convicted in England and Wales on the basis of the faulty Horizon software. Those with overturned convictions will receive an interim payment with the option of immediately taking a fixed and final offer of £600,000.
Mr Byrne said: “The proposed new law is an important step forward but it’s not job done. The Post Office is still in charge of processing too many claims, when it’s not fit for purpose.”