Post Office scandal: Compensation scheme has some holes, says inquiry

The caput of an enquiry into the Post Office ungraded has called for enactment and instrumentality changes to halt issues "blocking afloat and just compensation".

Sir Wyn Williams said schemes acceptable up to compensate sub-postmasters wrongly accused of crimes was a "patchwork quilt with immoderate holes successful it".

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were convicted owed to accounting errors caused by the faulty Horizon IT system.

Sir Wyn has acceptable retired recommendations to the authorities and Post Office.

In a study laid earlier Parliament connected Monday, the retired justice said determination was nary "valid ineligible reason" wherefore the authorities and Post Office "cannot springiness effect to the commitments they which they person made" successful providing "full and fair" compensation.

Between 2000 and 2024, much than 700 Post Office managers were fixed transgression convictions erstwhile faulty accounting software, called Horizon, made it look arsenic though wealth was missing from their sites.

The cases represent Britain's astir wide miscarriage of justness and determination has been a nationalist inquiry, led by Sir Wyn, which has been examining the attraction of thousands of sub-postmasters and to found who was to blasted for the wrongful prosecutions and wherefore thing was done to forestall them.

However, Sir Wyn has agelong held concerns astir the dilatory advancement of compensation for Post Office staff.

The retired justice said it had been 16 months since helium archetypal started to perceive the experiences of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses, which helium said "consisted of graphic descriptions of hardship and suffering".

"The effect of the grounds upon maine hasn't changed. It hasn't lessened to a degree," helium added.

"Many hundreds of radical suffered disastrous consequences by crushed of the misuse of information from Horizon, and thousands much suffered precise significantly."