Dozens of former subpostmasters have been cleared of convictions by the Court of Appeal after a 20-year battle. The subpostmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting as a result of the Post Office’s defective Horizon accounting system. The faulty Horizon software, produced by Japanese company Fujitsu, led to inaccurate data which resulted in prosecutions and financial misconduct convictions for the sub-postmasters.
The impact of these convictions was devastating, with thousands of people being forced to pay back non-existent losses resulting from the software failure, causing financial ruin, serious ill health, and in some cases, even suicide. The sub-postmasters were held accountable for any deficits incurred by their branches, leaving many to repay the nonexistent losses out of their own pockets.
In 2019, the High Court ruled that the Horizon software was at fault for the losses, and a public inquiry was ordered by the government the following year. The Post Office’s senior leadership disregarded warnings about the software’s issues and opted to launch private prosecutions against employees who tried to manually alter the data or were unable to repay nonexistent losses, which totaled tens of thousands of pounds in many cases.
Although 93 convictions have been quashed so far, many more are still being assessed, and thousands of people who lost their homes and livelihoods have yet to receive substantial compensation. The Prime Minister has vowed to introduce new legislation to ensure that all victims of the scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
The ordeal has sparked renewed outcry from the public following the release of a new ITV docu-drama documenting the efforts to secure justice. Calls for mass exonerations and compensation for victims have grown, with many victims sharing their stories in national media and highlighting the impact of the scandal on their lives and families.
The current public inquiry, expected to extend into the middle of the year, has brought to light the impact of the scandal on the lives of those affected. A disclosure hearing was held to delve further into the issue, with Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake indicating the government’s willingness to pursue Fujitsu for compensation if the ongoing public inquiry places blame on the Japanese IT firm.