Former sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of offences in a Post Office IT scandal will get interim compensation of up to £100,000, the government has said today.
As of this week, a total of 59 former sub-postmasters have had their convictions quashed – with more due in court over the coming months.
The Government has said the payments will be made to ‘ensure affected individuals are not left out of pocket’ as they and the Post Office work towards full settlements for the ‘immense hardship’ they have faced.
A promise has also been made that The Post Office will continue to work quickly towards final settlements, to ensure postmasters are fairly compensated for the suffering and distress they have gone through.
Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, who already has 49 clients whose convictions have been overturned in court, described it as a ‘cautiously positive step”, adding that he expects fair compensation to run into ‘very significant sums’ in many cases.
Read Neil Hudgell’s reaction to today’s announcement here
In The News: BBC