Westminster tells Holyrood to make its own law to redress Post Office scandal

THE Scottish Government will need to find their own legal fix to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted because of the faulty Horizon IT software.

Ministers in Edinburgh had pleaded with the UK Government to include Scotland in their legislation and had suggested a number of amendments to the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill making its way through the Commons.

However, they have been told it is for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament to bring forward legislation specific to those caught up in the scandal north of the border.

There have been more than 900 convictions linked to the software across the UK, including around 60 in Scotland.

The UK Government’s bill will overturn convictions of theft, fraud, false accounting, money laundering and any linked offences handed down in connection with prosecutions in England and Wales brought between September 23, 1996, and December 31, 2018.

The First Minister has repeatedly said his preference is to pass a Legislative Consent Motion to allow the UK Government’s legal fix to apply north of the border.

However, ministers in London have been equally clear that as justice is devolved and as prosecutions were undertaken in a completely separate system it is for ministers in Edinburgh to come up with their own solution.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has also said that there can be no quick solution for the Scottish victims and that it was “imperative that due process is followed.”

She said the “right process” for people to clear their names was through the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the High Court of Appeal.

Yesterday, Justice Secretary Angela Constance wrote to UK enterprise minister Kevin Hollinrake setting out 15 “relatively simple” amendments which she said could extend the UK bill to Scotland.

She said this would “ensure there is no delay to the quashing of convictions and access to compensation.”

A UK Government spokeswoman said: “In Scotland, prosecutions were undertaken by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“Is it therefore right that overturning convictions in Scotland is determined, delivered and scrutinised by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.

“The Scottish Government has already indicated that they are bringing forward legislation and we are working closely with them as we progress legislation to ensure equitable outcomes for victims across the UK.”