Postmasters who have had their convictions overturned, will now have their compensation claims administered by the government, completely taking them out of the hands of the Post Office. The government says the move “fulfils a key request from those impacted by the scandal”.

The change will apply to all previously convicted postmasters, whether their convictions were overturned by a court or by legislation last year. The change will be effective from 3 June this year. As of 31 January, approximately £663 million has been paid to over 4,300 claimants. The amount of compensation paid has more than doubled since the end of June 2024.

Prime minister rejects request of Horizon compensation deadline

“After a three-month transitional period, the Department for Business and Trade’s Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) will broaden its scope to take on responsibility for redress for postmasters who have had their convictions overturned by the Courts. These are currently dealt with by the Post Office through their Overturned Convictions scheme,” a government press release said.

“This is something that postmasters, campaigners, and Parliamentarians, including the Business and Trade Select Committee, have all called for,” it continued.

Government guarantees compensation to Post Office Horizon victims

Aim to speed up compensation process for Horizon victims

Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: “My priority upon coming into office was to speed up the delivery of compensation to the victims of the Horizon scandal. We have made significant progress, and we are now moving to ensure there is a quick transfer of schemes from the Post Office to the Department. In the meantime, I encourage all those eligible to apply for redress under the Overturned Convictions scheme and continue to progress their claims with the Post Office until the transfer date.”

“Postmasters have suffered a huge amount. While the government can’t fully put right what they have been through, it can make sure the compensation process works better for them by listening to their grievances and acting upon them where possible to ensure postmasters are treated with dignity and respect. Today, this means ending the difficulty of dealing with the organisation which upended so many of their lives,” the government said.

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