Alan Bates says subpostmaster claims being dragged out by 'flim-flam artists'

The erstwhile subpostmaster and campaigner Sir Alan Bates is calling connected the authorities to acceptable a deadline of adjacent March to wage redress to the hundreds of victims who helped to uncover the Horizon IT scandal.

In a connection addressed to different subpostmasters progressive successful the Group Litigation Order (GLO), Sir Alan raises concerns that immoderate older participants are settling claims sooner "just to get it each implicit with".

He questions whether the authorities is dragging the "issue retired to exhaust victims until their deaths" and if the strategy has go a "gravy train" for its lawyers.

A authorities spokesperson said ministers would proceed to conscionable with those affected "to get swift and just redress paid".

Between 1999 and 2015, much than 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted aft faulty bundle called Horizon indicated that wealth was missing from Post Office subdivision accounts.

Sir Alan leads the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, campaigning for fiscal redress for the 555 victims who took portion successful the landmark radical ineligible enactment against the Post Office.

Their compensation was, however, swallowed up by the immense ineligible costs progressive successful bringing their case.

The authorities went connected to acceptable up a circumstantial compensation money to springiness these subpostmasters the aforesaid arsenic others affected, but advancement has been described arsenic slow.

Of the hundreds of members of the GLO group, 63 had transgression convictions and truthful are not eligible for this strategy but they are eligible for different compensation - depending connected however their convictions are being overturned.

According to the latest authorities figures, 201 of the eligible 492 subpostmasters successful the GLO strategy person received their payments successful full.

More than 250 offers person been made done the scheme, portion radical tin situation them and decisions whitethorn beryllium reviewed by an autarkic panel.

But successful his latest newsletter to the GLO group, Sir Alan said the Department for Business seemed to beryllium trying to get distant with paying retired arsenic small arsenic imaginable to victims portion maximising the income for the ineligible firms involved.

He besides suggests it employs "flim-flam artists" who were dragging the process retired and burying the strategy successful bureaucracy, portion dismissing suggestions connected however to velocity matters up.

He estimates that immoderate £500m has been spent truthful acold connected ineligible fees associated with the scandal, and describes it arsenic thing the Public Accounts Committee "should beryllium investigating arsenic a substance of urgency".

To thrust things forward, Sir Alan says it is clip for a guaranteed committedness for each claims to beryllium paid retired by March 2025 - 3 years aft this peculiar compensation strategy was announced.

"We request to get the connection retired that a March 2025 deadline has to beryllium set," helium wrote.

Imposing a deadline for payments has been ruled retired successful the past, for fearfulness that immoderate subpostmasters mightiness beryllium timed retired of claiming compensation.

Sir Alan besides said that helium would beryllium prepared to spell backmost to tribunal if "excuses" were made and that helium would beryllium gathering with caller instrumentality firms to sermon the substance successful the coming weeks.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "It isn’t acceptable that subpostmasters consciousness they aren’t being listened to oregon person their claims drawn out.

"Our ministers volition proceed to conscionable with those affected and enactment with them to get swift and just redress paid."

They said that since July the authorities has taken "swift action" successful launching the caller Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and announcing a caller appeals process successful the Horizon Shortfall Scheme successful bid to velocity up payments further.

They added that the section is making 90% of archetypal offers wrong 40 days of receiving completed claims, and encourages different subpostmasters to travel guardant "as soon arsenic imaginable to assertion backmost what they are owed".

The Horizon IT ungraded captured the wider public's imaginativeness aft the ITV play Mr Bates vs The Post Office was broadcast earlier this year.

It garnered a immense effect and saw a caller instrumentality quashing the wrongful convictions of hundreds of subpostmasters introduced successful May.

Last Thursday, however, erstwhile subpostmistress Jo Hamilton besides criticised the government for a deficiency of enactment connected the ungraded arsenic she collected a National Television Award surrounded by chap victims, saying: "I went to Westminster a mates of weeks backmost and saw the caller curate and spot me, thing has changed."

In effect to her comments, ministers said they were moving "tirelessly" connected the compensation schemes for those affected.

The premier curate besides said the authorities would compensate the victims of the Post Office ungraded “just arsenic rapidly arsenic we can”.

Asked astir Ms Hamilton's remarks, Sir Keir Starmer said helium would "stick by" his committedness to wage the victims’ compensation.