Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been urged to take legal action against the government over compensation delays.
In an email to victims seen by Sky News, Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates suggested it would be November 2027 before all the claims are finished based on the current rate of progress.
He told them going to court was “probably the quickest way to ensure fairness for all”.
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Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted for theft and false accounting after Fujitsu-made accounting software Horizon inaccurately generated financial shortfalls, making it appear money was missing from Post Offices across the UK.
Many other sub-postmasters were made bankrupt, suffered ill health and experienced relationship breakdowns as a result of the falsely generated shortfalls and how the Post Office, a state-owned company, responded.
‘Lawyers taking every opportunity to challenge’
Compensation claims are processed through schemes administered by the Department of Business and Trade (DBT).
Sir Alan said one scheme in particular – the group litigation order (GLO) scheme for the 555 people who successfully took legal action against the Post Office and exposed the scandal – was “a mess”.
“Advice on how to streamline and speed up the scheme which has been offered to the DBT by ourselves, your lawyers and even the DBT Select Committee is ignored out of hand with the feeblest of excuses,” he said.
The government disputed the forecast by Sir Alan that it would take until 2027 for all claims to be settled, and said it was “settling claims at a faster rate than ever before”.
