Lawyers representing hundreds of former sub-postmasters who are still seeking compensation for their suffering as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal welcome a Government committee’s call to make significant changes to how claims are handled.
In its ‘Post Office and Horizon scandal redress: Unfinished business’ report, the Department for Business and Trade Committee highlights how 72% of the total budget set aside for compensation settlements has still not been paid to victims, due to over-complicated processes and delays.
Now, in recognition that the schemes have been ‘so poorly designed that the application process is akin to a second trial for victims’, the Committee is recommending to the Government that:
- The Post Office be removed from administering any of the redress schemes.
- Up-front legal advice be offered to claimants and paid for by all scheme administrators.
- Binding timeframes be introduced for scheme administrators at each individual stage, with financial penalties passed on to the claimant if deadlines are not met.
- An independent adjudicator be appointed for each scheme and empowered to provide directions and case management to ensure claimants move through the process swiftly.
- Clear, strong instructions be provided to taxpayer-funded lawyers to maximise the speed of redress, eliminate legal delays, enhance the benefit of doubt given to claimants, and publish the costs spent on lawyers for the public.
‘Removing unnecessary obstacles to redress’
Hudgell Solicitors presently represents hundreds of former sub-postmasters seeking compensation through the various schemes, and solicitor Neil Hudgell says all include ‘removable obstacles to redress’ in his opinion.
We welcome any recommendations to speed up redress, and many of these seek to remove unnecessary obstacles to justice we have seen over the past few years, repeated across hundreds of cases.
We have repeatedly said claimants should have access to up-front legal advice in all scheme claims, that they should be given the benefit of the doubt where written evidence is limited given the timeframes we are talking and that offers should be made at the top of the range for each category of loss. Sadly, we’ve not seen that across most schemes to this point, certainly not with any level of consistency.
The overarching goal must be full, fair and final compensation for as many affected people as possible in 2025, including those victims for whom there currently isn’t any right of redress.
Call for ‘fear factor’ to be removed in Convictions Redress Scheme
A significant aspect of the Committee’s recommendations relates to the most recently launched scheme, the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS).
Introduced last year following new legislation, which exonerated hundreds of wrongfully convicted former sub-postmasters, it allows those who have had convictions quashed to accept a £600,000 ‘final’ settlement without fully assessing their case, or seek a full assessment should they believe their claim to be worth more.
However, at present, those choosing to go down the route of a full assessment run the risk of eventually receiving less than £600,000, something the Committee says is creating a ‘fear factor’, and which it says should be removed, with the £600,000 being offered as a minimum to all.
Hudgell Solicitors currently support more than 230 people who have received a letter from the Government to say their conviction has been quashed, registering them for the HCRS scheme.
Of those, 167 have already opted to take the final £600,000 offer, with 107 already having received the compensation.
Of the remaining clients, a small number are still awaiting confirmation of their exoneration, and the rest have opted for full assessments, or are undecided, with the Government now being urged to also guarantee them a minimum of £600,000.
“We have advised many clients who might well have had a case for higher compensation settlement through this scheme, but who have told us that they simply could not face further years of worry to possibly walk away with less than they are being offered now,” said Mr Hudgell.
The £600,000 is an offer we are seeing the vast majority take. We have secured more than £64m in payments since it was launched last July. However, it should be a minimum offer and not taken from the table if people choose to have their case fully assessed.
Our client Dewi Lewis is an example. He was wrongfully jailed for three months, and gave evidence last year to the Business and Trade Commons Select Committee at which he told them he accepted the £600,000 final offer as he simply didn’t have the fight to go through anymore, having seen the battles others have faced. He felt backed into a corner, and that is not how it should be.
By taking away that fear factor, and the extra measures being proposed today, we will hopefully see many more come forward, as there are still a worrying number of people who have had their convictions quashed yet to claim the compensation they are entitled to.
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme Claims
Hudgell Solicitors are providing expert legal advice to former post office workers who have had convictions relating to the Post Office Horizon scandal quashed following the introduction of new laws.
We have registered claims and secured millions in interim and final payments on behalf of clients. We work to ensure compensation is secured for each person which truly reflects the impact upon their lives, as quickly as possible.
Read more: Experts in Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme Claims
