The Scottish government has identified 141 cases of people who could be eligible to have their names cleared after being wrongly convicted in the Post Office (PO) Horizon scandal, under new legislation that came into force in June.
However, a Freedom of Information request by the BBC showed that so far the justice secretary has only written to only two victims to tell them their convictions have been overturned because of the new law. The Scottish government said it should have contacted the majority of people eligible within the next two months.
The Scottish Parliament introduced legislation to automatically exonerate victims, but in August some victims said they were still waiting for updates on whether they had been cleared or not.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “The Scottish government is clear that anyone wrongly convicted as a result of the defective Horizon IT system should have their conviction quashed, and as a result be entitled to UK government compensation.
“Since the Post Office [Horizon System] Offences [Scotland] Act 2024 was passed, the Scottish government has identified 141 cases that could be eligible.
“This is a very complex process involving several partner agencies and the handling of sensitive personal information and data.
Horizon scandal victims to have names cleared under new law
“With the necessary procedures now in place, the Scottish government has started to inform individuals and expect within the next two months to confirm with the majority of eligible people that they have had their convictions quashed.”
The news comes as Computer Weekly report that Fujitsu has lost up to £60m in sales as a result of its involvement in the PO Horizon scandal.
Dave Riley, head of public sector at Fujitsu, told staff during a company call that media coverage of the scandal has lost the UK public sector operation of the IT giant £50m-60m in potential revenue.
Riley said that following the ITV drama which depicted the scandal, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Fujitsu’s UK subsidiary “agreed with Japan a different profile of the business” than the company had “anticipated”.
He added that his revenue budget for the public sector business is £399m this year, compared to £450m-£460m forecast last year.
“Let’s call that gap of £50m to £60m the cost to the business of the media coverage and what’s happening in the public debate,” Riley said.
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