Yousaf: UK Government should think again and include Scotland in Horizon Bill
The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill as currently proposed would only quash convictions in England and Wales.
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK Government should “think again” on making its Horizon Bill UK-wide, Scotland’s First Minister has said.
The legislation – which will quash the convictions of subpostmasters as a result of faults with the Post Office IT system – is due to be introduced on Wednesday, but will cover only England and Wales.
Humza Yousaf said he was “greatly disappointed” that is the case, but stressed steps can still be taken to ensure the legislation comes into effect across the UK.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, he urged the UK Government to “think again”, but said his own Government is working on bringing forward a Bill.
The difficulty with Scottish-specific legislation is we'll have to wait to see the details of UK-specific legislation
“We have been working on Scottish-specific legislation,” he said. “I’ve been having regular discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs.”
But Scottish legislation will have to wait until the Westminster Bill passes before it can be introduced, the First Minister said, to ensure there is no friction between the two that could impact on the settlements offered to those impacted by Horizon.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake has pledged to work alongside the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive in weekly meetings to help them “progress their own approaches”.
Mr Yousaf continued: “The difficulty of course with Scottish-specific legislation is we’ll have to wait to see the details of UK-specific legislation, not just when it’s introduced, but as it gets amended through the UK parliamentary process.
“If we have legislation which diverges significantly, that could have an impact on compensation that subpostmasters here in Scotland could get access to and of course we don’t want that.”
Some reports suggest the UK Bill may not be passed until July – which would mean the Scottish Parliament would be in recess and unable to pass its own legislation until MSPs return in September.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Hollinrake said: “We are fully committed to work with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive through regular weekly official-level engagement to progress their own approaches.
“I have met with my counterparts in the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to offer support and address their concerns and have offered further meetings.
“The financial redress scheme, of course, will be open to applicants throughout the UK once convictions have been overturned.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay accused the First Minister of “petty posturing” after the Lord Advocate – the country’s top law officer – said she did not favour blanket exoneration for impacted subpostmasters in Scotland.
“He should also know that all prosecutions in Scotland were conducted by the Crown Office under the distinct Scottish legal process,” Mr Findlay added.
“Instead of trying to pass the buck, and stoke yet more constitutional grievance, he needs to get on with delivering justice for Scotland’s Post Office victims.”
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Around 100 Post Office subpostmasters in Scotland were among those convicted after being wrongly accused of embezzling money.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the proposed Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill “marks an important step forward in finally clearing” the names of hundreds of wronged branch managers who have had their lives “callously torn apart”.
Downing Street said that under the law, convictions in England and Wales will be automatically quashed if they meet the following criteria:
– Were prosecuted by the Post Office or Crown Prosecution Service;
– Were for offences carried out in connection with Post Office business between 1996 and 2018;
– Were for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting;
– Were against subpostmasters, their employees, officers, family members or direct employees of the Post Office working in a Post Office that used the Horizon system software.
Those with overturned convictions will receive an interim payment with the option of immediately taking a fixed and final offer of £600,000, according to No 10.
The Government will also bring forward “enhanced” financial redress for postmasters who, while not convicted or part of legal action against the Post Office, made good the apparent losses caused by the Horizon system from their own pockets.
They will be entitled to a fixed sum award of £75,000 through the Horizon shortfall scheme, Downing Street said.
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