Ministers have vowed to press ahead with legislation to automatically overturn convictions related to the Post Office Horizon scandal by the end of July.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Post Office minister, said in a written ministerial statement on Thursday the legislation would immediately quash the convictions of hundreds of post office operators in England and Wales.
Hollinrake’s statement said ministers aimed to pass the bill into law “as soon as possible before summer recess”.
This is despite concerns among senior members of the judiciary, who put forward an alternative proposal to overturn convictions through the courts. This alternative plan was discussed by ministers this month.
Critics have said that quashing convictions by statute sets a dangerous precedent by allowing parliament and politicians to overturn the decisions of courts.
In his statement, Hollinrake said the government “recognises the constitutional sensitivity and unprecedented nature of this legislation” but that the bill “does not set a precedent for the future relationship between the executive, parliament and the judiciary”.
“The judiciary and the courts have dealt swiftly with the cases before them, but the scale and circumstances of this prosecutorial misconduct demands an exceptional response,” he wrote.
Rishi Sunak announced his plan for the bill during prime minister’s questions last month, at a time when there was pressure on the government to act after the ITV drama increased awareness of the scandal.
Another criticism of the planned legislation is that it lumps together innocent and guilty by automatically exonerating every conviction, instead of overturning them one by one.
Hollinrake’s statement said that while “the legislation is likely to exonerate a number of people who were, in fact, guilty of a crime … this is a price worth paying in order to ensure that many innocent people are exonerated”.
Once post office operators’ convictions have been quashed they can seek compensation. Those eligible can receive an interim payment of £163,000 within 28 days of applying, and then choose between an upfront settlement totalling £600,000 or having their financial redress considered on an individual basis.
The Scottish government expressed disappointment that the planned legislation would only proceed in England and Wales.
Holyrood’s justice secretary, Angela Constance, said she had made it clear to the UK government that a UK-wide bill, extended to Scotland via a legislative consent motion, was the preferred option to ensure there was “a quick, fair and equal solution” for all affected post office operators.
She said the UK plans would “introduce additional time and complexity”, because Scottish legislation would need to be introduced after a UK bill had passed to ensure full compatibility.
The scandal has been in the spotlight this week after Henry Staunton, who was sacked as the chair of the Post Office last month, made a series of explosive allegations about the government’s handling of it.
He alleged that the top official at the business department suggested he should slow down compensation payments and allow the government to “hobble” to the election and save money. The official in question, Sarah Munby, and the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, have categorically denied this. Staunton said he stood by his recollection of events.
Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of post office operators after a faulty computer system, Horizon, made it look like money was missing. There have been more than 900 convictions linked to the scandal over 16 years, with only about 100 overturned so far.
