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Post Office IT scandal compensation schemes are to be improved and victims’ legal advice to be funded , according to the government which may create an independent body to handle similar miscarriages of justice in future.
The announcements were made as part of the official response to the damning conclusions of the first volume of the Horizon inquiry’s findings, released in July.
It focused on the “disastrous” human impact of false theft and false accounting accusations made against at least 1,000 postmasters as a result of the faulty IT accounting system used by the Post Office.
The retired judge who chaired the two-year inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, made 19 recommendations.
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The government said on Thursday that only one would not be taken up.
Its pledges included funding of legal advice for postmasters, redress for close family members – a measure that had been previously announced – and a new appeals process, with funded legal advice, for those who have accepted Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) fixed sum offers.
HSS, which has been run by the Post Office and subject to widespread complaints relating to undervaluation of claims, covers compensation for those postmasters who were not wrongly convicted of any crime but lost money due to the IT shortcomings covered up.
Those who apply can choose between a £75,000 fixed sum offer or a full assessment of their case if they believe they are entitled to a higher amount.
That scheme’s closure to new…
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