Ministers reject judiciary plan for alternative to mass exoneration of Post Office victims

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The UK government was adamant on Friday that it would not accept plans from the judiciary that would have rolled back Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to exonerate victims in the Post Office Horizon scandal en masse.

Postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake met Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, on Tuesday to discuss plans tabled by the judiciary that would have enabled the attorney-general to submit cases in groups that could be overturned in the Court of Appeal, according to three people briefed on the proposals.

The measures threatened to undermine Sunak’s pledge to use legislation to clear the names of all affected sub-postmasters and have their convictions quashed by the end of the year.

The Ministry of Justice said: “The prime minister was clear — we will introduce primary legislation that will exonerate those impacted by the historic Horizon scandal.”

More than 900 sub-postmasters were convicted in cases involving data from Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system following its introduction in 1999, including more than 700 brought by the Post Office itself.

Hollinrake told the Financial Times that the judiciary’s proposals had come from “experienced voices” but the government would proceed with its original plans and was in the process of finalising legislation.

Christopher Hodges, chair of the government-appointed Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, said most victims did not care about how an exoneration happened but about how fast it could be delivered. “People expect it to be done and done quickly,” he said.

Passing legislation to enable a blanket exoneration would represent an unprecedented move by the government. The decision, taken in an election year, has been criticised by members of the judiciary who argue it encroaches on the independence of the courts.