Up to 141 Post Office convictions could be quashed in Scotland

More than 140 convictions related to the Post Office's Horizon ungraded could beryllium quashed successful Scotland.

The Scottish authorities has identified 141 cases wherever radical could beryllium eligible to beryllium exonerated nether caller authorities that came into unit successful June.

However, a Freedom of Information petition shows the justness caput has truthful acold written to lone 2 victims to archer them their convictions person been overturned arsenic a effect of the caller law.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters crossed the UK were wrongly accused of crimes specified arsenic theft oregon fraud connected the ground of Horizon - a faulty IT strategy utilized by the Post Office.

The Scottish authorities said it should person contacted the bulk of radical eligible wrong the adjacent 2 months.

The ungraded was described arsenic the biggest "miscarriage of justice" successful British history, with workers being taken to tribunal - and successful immoderate cases jailed oregon financially ruined - arsenic a effect of flawed information produced by the strategy that often showed incorrect fiscal shortfalls.

The fig of imaginable cases successful Scotland is an summation connected previously estimated numbers.

In 2020 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) - which investigates imaginable miscarriages of justness - wrote to much than 70 imaginable victims successful Scotland.

Eight radical person besides been been cleared done the Scottish courts.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “The Scottish authorities is wide that anyone wrongly convicted arsenic a effect of the defective Horizon IT strategy should person their condemnation quashed, and arsenic a effect beryllium entitled to UK authorities compensation.

“Since the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 was passed, the Scottish authorities has identified 141 cases that could beryllium eligible.

"This is simply a precise analyzable process involving respective spouse agencies and the handling of delicate idiosyncratic accusation and data.

“With the indispensable procedures present successful place, the Scottish authorities has started to pass individuals and expect wrong the adjacent 2 months to corroborate with the bulk of eligible radical that they person had their convictions quashed."

The Scottish Parliament introduced authorities to automatically exonerate victims, but successful August immoderate victims said they were inactive waiting for updates connected whether they had been cleared oregon not.

Unlike England and Wales, wherever the Post Office itself prosecuted cases, successful Scotland the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service holds sole work for prosecutions.

Japanese institution Fujitsu developed the Horizon strategy for tasks specified arsenic accounting and stocktaking and it was introduced by the Post Office successful 1999.

Sub-postmasters raised issues regarding bugs successful the strategy aft it falsely reported shortfalls - often for galore thousands of pounds - but their concerns were repeatedly dismissed by the Post Office.

The play was thrust into the nationalist spotlight by ITV play Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which focused connected erstwhile sub-postmaster Alan Bates and his run for justice.

A nationalist inquiry into the ungraded is ongoing.

By the extremity of August approximately £289m has been paid to much than 2,800 claimants crossed 4 compensation schemes.