UK

Post Office scandal victims to be exonerated and compensated

The prime minister has said a new law will be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.

In the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the year, Rishi Sunak said he will make sure those convicted as part of the Post Office scandal will be “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.

The government had come under increased pressure to take action on the Horizon scandal following the airing of ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office last week.

More than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted for accounting errors relying on data from the faulty Horizon software.

Politics latest: Post Office minister says ‘we have a solution for victims’

Some had called for a mass appeal before the Court of Appeal, while others wanted legislation to overturn the convictions or even a pardon from the King.

Last year, the government announced that every wrongly convicted sub-postmaster and sub-postmistress would be offered £600,000 in compensation.

More on Post Office Scandal

In 2019, the Post Office agreed to pay £58m to 555 sub-postmaster and sub-mistresses.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Articles You May Like

Amazon to invest another $4 billion in Anthropic, OpenAI’s biggest rival
Fastest-Moving Stars in the Galaxy May be Piloted by Aliens, New Study Suggests
Tesla brings ‘Actually Smart Summon’ to Europe and Middle East where FSD is limited
YMX Logistics deploys 20 new Orange EV electric yard trucks
Wall Street launches new ways to bet on bitcoin