Payout for postmasters

The Post Office has offered compensation to 777 of the 2,500 postmasters who applied for compensation over a 20-year scandal that saw some of them serve prison sentences.

Its chief executive, Nick Read, told MPS yesterday that he hopes lawyers and staff working on the case can make offers to all but a handful of the claimants this year.

But he warned that the Post Office will need help from the UK Government to ensure that all the postmasters are properly compensated.

“The Post Office itself doesn’t have the financial resources to compensate a miscarriage of justice of this scale,” he told the business, energy and industrial strategy committee.

In total, 950 postmasters were prosecuted for a variety of charges from 1999, but many of these cases were later linked to problems in the Horizon computer system.

Some of the postmasters were sent to prison for false accounting and theft.

So far, 72 convictions have been overturned.

Mr Read said that 66 of those people who have seen their convictions overturned have applied for an interim £100,000 payment designed to “bridge the gap” until a full settlement can be reached.

The Post Office has paid out interim payments to 57 of these.

“As soon as (convictions) have been overturned... the Post Office will be paying those interim payments within 28 days,” said business minister Paul Scully.

But the Post Office is yet to be able to contact 127 of the 736 former postmasters whose convictions were linked to Horizon.

“It is my intention that we do give full and final compensation of all the victims of the past and their families,” Mr Read said.

“The Post Office will be paying those interim payments within 28 days

CASE: Post Office chief executive Nick Read hopes lawyers can make offers this year.