Post Office scandal - live: Rishi Sunak announces new law to quash convictions of Horizon victims
More than 100 others involved have come forward since ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office aired
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rishi Sunak has announced new legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers after one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.
The prime minister also said there would be a new upfront payment of £75,000 for some of those affected.
Mr Sunak said a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated’’.
He told the Commons: “This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history.
“People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own. The victims must get justice and compensation.”
Another 130 people affected by the scandal have now come forward since a new TV programme dramatising the miscarriage of justice aired, postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake said.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) would normally look at individual convictions and send them to the Court of Appeal. But only 93 of at least 700 convictions have been overturned to date.
See below how our coverage unfolded:
Ministers will announce plan to quash convictions today
Rishi Sunak’s government will announce its solution to quash wrongful Post Office convictions today, The Independent understands.
A source close to the discussions said ministers were ready to reveal their plan for overturning a large number convictions.
They said ministers were confident it would “quickly” deal with the currently sluggish appeals process.
But it is not clear whether they will opt for an emergency law, or make changes to the current process so a large number of appeals can be heard at once.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) would normally look at the individual convictions and send them to the Court of Appeal. But only 93 of at least 700 convictions have been overturned to date.
Jailed Post Office scandal victim speaks out: ‘I have lost 21 years of my life’
**_If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offer support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch._** A subpostmaster wrongly jailed as part of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal says he has lost 21 years of his life. Parmod Kalia was sentenced to six months in jail after being falsely accused of stealing £22,000 from the Post Office. Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (10 January), Mr Kalia said: “It’s destroyed me mentally.” It comes as an announcement on the Horizon scandal is said to be “imminent” as Rishi Sunak is said to be “actively considering” an emergency bill to quash all 800 Horizon scandal convictions at once.
Minister to be called to Commons to answer urgent question today
A government minister will be called to the Commons to answer an urgent question on the Horizon scandal at around 12.30pm.
Former Cabinet minister David Davis will ask for a statement on “compensation and outstanding matters relating to the Post Office Horizon scandal”.
Tories after Ed Davey because of ‘blue wall’ advances, says senior Lib Dem
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has come under attack from Conservatives over the Horizon scandal because of the “advances he is making in the blue wall”, his party’s leader in Scotland has said.
Sir Ed served as postal affairs minister while in coalition government between 2010 and 2012 and has been accused of having “fobbed off” sub-postmasters impacted by the Horizon scandal.
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said Sir Ed should not stand down despite increasing pressure from politicians and some who were impacted.
Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “You have to ask why is Ed being attacked? Well, he’s being attacked by the Tories because they’re worried about the advances he’s making in the blue wall.”
Victims’ compensation ‘should be paid by August’, says minister
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake has said the victims of the Horizon scandal that they should receive their compensation payments by August.
The junior minister told LBC that all outstanding payments should be made by August but admitted that “not all these things are within our gift”.
Post Office scandal victims confront minister in heated exchange: ‘It’s a cop-out’
Several Post Office victims confronted current Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake over the government’s response to the Horizon IT scandal. They told Mr Hollinrake the government’s handling of the scandal has been a “cop-out” and accused those responsible of “doing nothing” to help. The heated exchange took place during a Post Office scandal special on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday (10 January), where several victims spoke of the devastating impact it has had on their lives. It comes as an announcement on the Horizon scandal is said to be “imminent” as Rishi Sunak is said to be “actively considering” an emergency bill to quash all 800 Horizon scandal convictions at once.
Live: Sunak faces Starmer in first PMQs of the year as Post Office convictions set to be quashed
Watch live as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer face off at the first Prime Minister's Questions of 2024.Labour's Starmer is expected to quiz Sunak on the ongoing...
Rishi Sunak has stood in the Commons as PMQs begin. Stay tuned as we keep you updated.
Rishi Sunak said the post office scandal is “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in this nation’s history” at PMQs today.
He added: “We will make sure the truth comes to light. We right the wrongs of the past.”
Speaking of the Post Office scandal, Sir Keir Starmer said: “People lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood” as he paid tribute to the victims of the scandal.
The Labour leader then swiftly moved on to questioning the PM about the Rwanda scheme.
“£400m of taxpayer money down the drain. [...] It’s hardly a surprise he tried to scrap the scheme we he sneaked in as Tory leader.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments