Rishi Sunak says Post Office prosecutions below overview as sufferer confronts him
Rishi Sunak has confirmed Post Office prosecutions are below overview.
The Prime Minister has mentioned the Government is taking a look at learn how to exonerate tons of of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted in the course of the Horizon IT scandal amid mounting strain to reply to the “biggest miscarriage of justice” in British historical past.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is also inspecting whether or not the Post Office may be stripped of its function within the appeals course of, with many victims nonetheless making an attempt to overturn wrongful convictions.
Asked if the Government would take away the Post Office’s skill to research and prosecute, he instructed the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “The Justice Secretary is looking at the things that you’ve described, it wouldn’t be right to pre-empt that process, obviously there’s legal complexity in all of those things but he is looking at exactly those areas.”
He added: “Compensation is a part of that but there may be legal things that may be possible as well, and that’s what the Justice Secretary is looking at.”
Sub-postmistress Susan Knight, who was affected by the scandal, confronted Mr Sunak dwell on the programme in regards to the “snail’s pace” of compensation and requested the PM: “What are you going to do to ensure we get fair and final compensation, not in dribs and drabs?” She added: “Please stop making us feel – still feel – like victims.”
Former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton mentioned victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are “traumatised” and it’s “like a war” to attempt to get compensation. Mr Castleton, who was pursued by the courts and needed to pay tons of of hundreds of kilos and went bankrupt, described the scenario as “complicated and combative”.
“The victims are traumatised. It has been a long time of 25 years and £135million has been paid to some of the victims, but we have had £150million-plus paid to lawyers. These lawyers are putting lots of pressure and it is difficult. The schemes are difficult,” he mentioned.
“We are just normal run-of-the-mill people. We have legal people with us but it is so difficult and it is like a war. Why would anybody put the Post Office and DBT (the Department for Business and Trade) in charge of recompensing the victims?”
Mr Sunak mentioned: “Everyone has been shocked by watching what they have done over the past few days and beyond and it is an appalling miscarriage of justice.
“Obviously it is one thing that occurred within the ’90s however truly seeing it and listening to about it once more simply exhibits what an appalling miscarriage of justice it’s for everybody affected and it is necessary that these individuals now get the justice they deserve, and that is what the compensation schemes are about.
“The Government has paid out about £150 million to thousands of people already. Of course we want to get the money to the people as quickly as possible, that’s why there are interim payments of up to, I think, £600,000 that can be made. There are three different schemes available and for anyone affected they should come forward.”
More than 700 Post Office department managers have been handed legal convictions after defective Fujitsu accounting software program known as Horizon made it seem as if cash was lacking from their shops.
