Yousaf slams UK Government rule on Horizon scandal
THE Scottish Government intends to bring forward legislation to quash convictions of victims of the Post Office scandal before the summer.
At a meeting of the cabinet yesterday, Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the UK Government is “inexplicably” refusing to extend legislation for subpostmasters in Scotland, despite doing so to Northern Ireland.
Humza Yousaf, however, has said he still has hopes the legislation will cover all four nations and will ask the Prime Minister to reverse the decision not to extend the legislation.
Calling the decision “unacceptable and outrageous”, the First Minister said he was “utterly furious” that the proposed law will cover every other part of the UK. However, a Westminster insider said the position being taken by the SNP was “nonsensical”.
UK Enterprise Minister Kevin Hollinrake, in a letter to Ms Constance, said that it was more appropriate for Holyrood to legislate, given Scotland’s distinct legal system.
Previously, the Scottish Government has argued that the fastest way to secure parity for Scotland’s estimated 100 victims of the faulty Horizon IT system is to have blanket legislation across the UK.
Speaking to the broadcaster LBC yesterday afternoon, Mr Yousaf said: “We’ve got a letter from the UK Government saying they are going to extend the scope of the Bill to Northern Ireland but not to Scotland.
“That is outrageous and the fact of the matter is that it’s hard to think that the UK Government are doing anything other than using our subpostmasters and mistresses as a political pawn.
“That’s unacceptable, it’s outrageous and I’ll be writing to the Prime Minister in order to ask him to reverse that decision.”