The Post Office will cease to be involved in the redress for postmasters with overturned convictions following calls from campaigners and postmasters.
All postmasters who have had their convictions overturned, whether by a court or legislation last year, will now have their conviction claims administered by the Government, taking them out of the hands of the Post Office and fulfilling a key request from those impacted by the scandal.
After a three-month transitional period, the Department for Business and Trade’s Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) will broaden its scope to take on responsibility for redress for postmasters who have had their convictions overturned by the Courts, the Government has announced. These are currently dealt with by the Post Office through their Overturned Convictions scheme. This is something that postmasters, campaigners and Parliamentarians - including the Business and Trade Select Committee - have all called for.
The delivery of redress for victims was a key manifesto commitment, with a commitment of £1.8 billion to ensure all postmasters receive the justice and financial redress they deserve.
Gareth Thomas (above), Post Office Minister, said: “My priority coming into office was to speed up the delivery of compensation to the victims of the Horizon scandal. We’ve made significant progress, and we’re now moving to ensure there’s a quick transfer of schemes from the Post Office to the Department.
“In the meantime, I encourage all those eligible to apply for redress under the Overturned Convictions scheme and continue to progress their claims with the Post Office until the transfer date.”
The Department for Business and Trade will formally take over on 3 June 2025. The three-month transitional period between now and then will allow for the smooth transfer of active claims from one scheme to the other, ensuring there is no gap in service for postmasters who have claims in the system.
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