Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lydia Chantler-Hicks and Rachael Burford

Post Office scandal latest: Law to exonerate Horizon victims could be set up in six weeks, Tory peer says

New laws to clear Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal could take as little as six weeks to set up, an advisory board member has said.

"The Government has moved very quickly and the [ITV] drama has had a galvanising effect," said Conservative peer Lord Arbuthnot, who is a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, which met on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier announced the legislation, vowing that victims would be "swiftly exonerated and compensated".

A new upfront payment of £75,000 "for the vital GLO group of postmasters" will also be introduced, Mr Sunak told the Commons.

The spotlight is also turning on IT giant Fujitsu, after its faulty accounting software Horizon helped lead to the conviction of more than 700 Post Office branch managers.

Bosses at Fujitsu have been called to answer questions from MPs on the Business and Trade Committee next week.

Meanwhile minister Esther McVey has said she wants a knighthood for Alan Bates, who has led a decades-long fight for justice for subpostmasters.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.