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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Editorial

The Guardian view on justice for the sub-postmasters: the reckoning has only just begun

British PM Calls For Victims Of Post Office Prosecutions To Be ExoneratedBRACKNELL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10: A general exterior view of the offices of Fujitsu, the technology company who made the Horizon computer system at the heart of the Post Office prosecution saga, on January 10, 2024 in Bracknell, England. The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the government will introduce a new law to
‘Fujitsu, the company behind the Horizon computer system, has contributed nothing to the pot of redress, while continuing to benefit from lucrative public contracts.’ Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

A scandal as vast as the wrongful conviction of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters is no single person’s fault, but it should plague many consciences. The government’s plan, announced in parliament on Wednesday, to exonerate all victims and expedite compensation is only the start of the reckoning.

Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have all been in government over the long period when insufficient interest was taken in the case. Ministers accepted reassurances that should have been challenged. A malfunctioning IT system was given more credence than evidence of an appalling miscarriage of justice, arguably the biggest in modern British legal history.

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