All Post Office Horizon victims entitled to free legal advice for first time

All victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal seeking compensation will now be entitled to free legal advice, the government has announced.

The change could potentially have a major effect on the size of the payouts some victims are able to achieve.

It is one of a number of improvements to the compensation schemes available to victims, made in response to the first report from the public inquiry into the scandal, widely described as one of the UK’s worst ever miscarriages of justice.

In July, the chair of the inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, delivered his findings into the human impact of the scandal and called for urgent action.

The government said it has accepted all but one of the recommendations relating specifically to Horizon.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted after the faulty Horizon computer system made it look like money was missing from their branch accounts.

Hundreds of others poured their own savings into their branch to make up apparent shortfalls in order to avoid prosecution.

Making the announcement, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said there was “clearly more to do to bring justice to those affected” and accepting the recommendations was a “crucial step” towards doing this.

There are four compensation schemes for victims in various circumstances, but they have been criticised for being too slow and complicated and for only paying out fractions of the claims made.

Changes announced by the government on Thursday mean that victims who have sought compensation through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) – which accounts for more than half of the compensation claims paid out so far – are now eligible for government-funded legal advice.

This brings it in line with the three other schemes.

The government has also committed to setting up a new appeals process for postmasters who accepted a fixed payout under the HSS scheme.

Many victims have previously complained about being forced to accept low offers of compensation, without the benefit of legal advice.

Action taken in response to other recommendations included:

• the government extending the date for the closure of the HSS scheme
• giving greater clarity on the definition of “full and fair redress”
• starting work on a restorative justice project for postmasters

So far, more than £1.2bn has been paid out to more than 9,000 claimants across all of the compensation schemes.

Reacting, a spokesperson for Fujitsu – who provided the Horizon IT system – said the company had “apologised for, and deeply regret, our role in sub-postmasters’ suffering”.

Tony Downey bought the Hawkshead Post Office in the Lake District in 2001.

He and his wife Caroline were forced to put in £35,000 of their own savings to make up for “losses” created by the faulty software.

He lost his home, his livelihood and went bankrupt as a result. His health has also suffered.

Mr Downey is still waiting for full compensation nearly three years after submitting his claim.

“It just seems to be battling, all the time, to get a little bit more, and a little bit more, and a little bit more,” he said. “We’re just exhausted with it.”

Responding to Mr Downey’s testimony, a government spokesperson said: “We pay tribute to all the postmasters including Tony who have suffered from the Horizon scandal, which is why the amount paid to postmasters has increased fivefold to over £1bn as part of our ongoing commitment to deliver justice to victims as swiftly as possible.

“While we do not comment on individual cases, we take every effort to make full and fair offers to all claimants and only request information that will enable us to do so.”