New subject: Fwd: Advisory board goal for Post Office scandal victims to be returned to rightful financial position

23 Jan 2023

      https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529287/Advisory-board-goal-for-Post-O...

The board set up to monitor the compensation scheme for Post Office scandal
victims agrees goal of returning them to the financial position they would
be in had the scandal never happened

Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA
Published: 18 Jan 2023 12:15

The advisory board set up to oversee compensation awards to 555 victims of
the Post Office Horizon scandal has agreed a goal of returning them to the
financial position they would have been in had the scandal not happened.

Thousands of former subpostmasters were blamed for accounting shortfalls
caused by errors in the Post Office accounting software. They were forced
to repay huge sums, and were often bankrupted as a result. Many were
prosecuted and sent to prison.

The scandal destroyed the lives and livelihoods of the former
subpostmasters and their families for decades, with many suffering
stress-related illness. Suicides have been linked with the scandal.

In its first meeting, the GLO Compensation Scheme Advisory Board met
representatives of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy (BEIS).

The board agreed: “As with the general law, the goal should be to restore
the claimants to the position that they would have been in if the scandal
had not happened.”

The 555 former subpostmasters and Post Office branch workers were part of a
Group Litigation Order (GLO), which in 2019 proved that the software used
by Post Office branches, known as Horizon, was causing the unexplained
shortfalls they were blamed for.

They proved the software, from Fujitsu, was to blame, and forced the Post
Office to admit this was the case after nearly 20 years of denying it.

The Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance
The victory for the 555 subpostmasters in the High Court, all part of the
Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA), were awarded £58m in damages,
but after their legal costs – provided by a litigation funder that requires
repayment with interest – were taken out, they were left with just £11m to
share. This left people that had lost homes, businesses and huge sums of
money with an average of a few thousand pounds each.

The judgements in the High Court case, which was paid for by the victims,
also triggered the unravelling of one of the biggest miscarriages of
justice in British history. So far, more than 80 former subpostmasters have
had wrongful convictions for theft and fraud overturned.

The court ruling also forced the Post Office to set up a compensation
scheme for any subpostmaster affected by the Horizon errors.

But the Post Office and its government backer did not allow any of the 555
that took part in the court action to apply, citing that the compensation
that was already paid was “full and final”.

Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who set up the JFSA in 2009 and has
chaired it since, wrote to the government after the court victory,
demanding it paid the legal costs to leave JFSA members with fairer
compensation, but the government refused.

But Bates and JFSA members kept pushing the government for justice, and
through generating public pressure and instigating a judicial review forced
the government to set up a statutory public inquiry into the Horizon
scandal, which is ongoing.

Although compensation was initially left out of the terms of reference of
the public inquiry, the JFSA and its supporters forced the government to
include an examination of compensation.

Fair compensation
The JFSA kept fighting for fair compensation, just as they had fought for
justice for over a decade, and in June, the government was forced to agree
to pay it.

The GLO Compensation Scheme Advisory Board, set up to oversee the JFSA
compensation scheme, is made up of University of Oxford professor
Christopher Hodges, who is chair, peer James Arbuthnot and MP Kevan Jones,
who have supported and campaigned for justice for victims of the Horizon
scandal for two decades.

Arbuthnot said he was encouraged by the first meeting of the board with
BIES representatives. “Two key principles – the need for the goal to be to
restore the claimants to the position that they would have been in if the
scandal had not happened, and the imperative of speed of compensation –
were agreed,” he said. “Now we need to ensure that both are carried out.”

Jones said: “Good progress was made during the first meeting of the GLO
Compensation Scheme Advisory Board, including the parameters of the scheme.
The next meeting will be in February, where we will discuss setting up the
scheme as soon as possible.”

JFSA chair Bates said: “An oversight board was something very much missing
in previous schemes and it offers reassurance to the scheme that people
that have been so supportive over the years are involved. It also provides
some transparency.”

In 2009, Computer Weekly told the stories of seven subpostmasters affected
by the problems (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles below).

Read all Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009
May 2009: Bankruptcy, prosecution and disrupted livelihoods – postmasters
tell their story.
September 2009: Postmasters form action group after accounts shortfall.
November 2009: Post Office theft case deferred over IT questions.
May 2010: A pilot of the new Horizon Online system at Royal Mail has been
scaled back after connectivity problems and outages.
February 2011: Post Office faces legal action over alleged accounting
system failures.
October 2011: 85 subpostmasters seek legal support in claims against Post
Office computer system.
June 2012: Post Office launches external review of system at centre of
legal disputes.
January 2013: Post Office admits Horizon system needs more investigation.
January 2013: Post Office announces amnesty for Horizon evidence.
January 2013: Post Office wants to get to bottom of IT system allegations.
June 2013: Investigation into Post Office accounting system to drill down
on strongest cases.
July 2013: Post Office Horizon system investigation reveals concerns.
October 2013: End in sight for subpostmaster claims against Post Office’s
Horizon accounting system.
October 2013: Former Lord Justice of Appeal Hooper joins Post Office
Horizon investigation.
November 2013: 150 subpostmasters file claims over “faulty” Horizon
accounting system.
September 2014: Fresh questions raised over Post Office IT system’s role in
fraud cases.
December 2014: MPs blast Post Office over IT system investigation and
remove backing.
December 2014: Why MPs lost faith in the Post Office’s IT investigation,
but vowed to fight on.
December 2014: MPs to debate subpostmaster IT injustice claims.
December 2014: MP accuses Post Office of acting ‘duplicitously’ in IT
investigation.
January 2015: MPs force inquiry into Post Office subpostmaster mediation
scheme.
January 2015: Post Office faces grilling by MPs over Horizon accounting
system.
February 2015: Post Office CIO will talk to any subpostmaster about IT
problems, promises CEO.
March 2015: Post Office ends working group for IT system investigation day
before potentially damaging report.
March 2015: MPs seek reassurance over Post Office mediation scheme.
March 2015: Retiring MP aims to uncover truth of alleged Post Office
computer system problems.
April 2015: Post Office failed to investigate account shortfalls before
legal action, report claims.
April 2015: Criminal Courts Review Commission set to review subpostmasters’
claims of wrongful prosecution.
June 2015: Post Office looking to replace controversial Horizon system with
IBM, says MP.
July 2015: Campaigners call for independent inquiry into Post Office
Horizon IT system dispute.
October 2015: James Arbuthnot takes Post Office IT fight to House of Lords.
November 2015: The union that represents Post Office subpostmasters has
warned of a problem with the Horizon accounting system.
November 2015: An email from Post Office IT support reveals a problem with
the Horizon system and supporting processes that could lead to accounting
errors.
November 2015: Group litigation against Post Office being prepared in
Horizon dispute.
February 2016: Post Office faces group litigation over Horizon IT as
subpostmasters fund class action.
June 2016: Post Office chairman Tim Parker says there would be
“considerable risk” associated with changing its Horizon computer system.
November 2016: The legal team hired by a group of subpostmasters will take
their case to the next stage.
January 2017: The group action against the Post Office that alleges
subpostmasters have been wrongly punished for accounting errors gets green
light from the High Court of Justice.
March 2017: 1,000 subpostmasters apply to join IT-related group litigation
against Post Office.
April 2017: Investigation into claims of miscarriages of justice in
relation to a Post Office accounting system has appointed a forensic
accountant firm.
May 2017: Hundreds of subpostmasters have applied to join IT-related legal
action since March.
July 2017: Post Office defence in computer system legal case due this week.
August 2017: Campaigners submit initial evidence in group litigation
against Post Office over controversial Horizon IT system.
October 2017: Subpostmasters’ group action against the Post Office reaches
an important milestone.
November 2017: An end is in sight for subpostmasters’ campaign against
alleged wrongful prosecution, which they blame on a faulty computer system.
November 2017: The High Court judge managing the subpostmasters versus Post
Office legal case over an allegedly faulty computer system tells legal
teams to cooperate.
January 2018: Forensic investigation into Post Office IT system at centre
of legal case nears completion.
April 2018: Criminal Cases Review Commission forensic examination of the IT
system at the centre of a legal case against the Post Office has raised
further questions.
May 2018: Post Office branches unable to connect to Horizon computer system
for several hours after morning opening time.
October 2018: After over a decade of controversy, next week marks the
beginning of a court battle between subpostmasters and the Post Office.
November 2018: Case against Post Office in relation to allegedly faulty
computer system begins in High Court.
November 2018: High Court case in which subpostmasters are suing the Post
Office has revealed a known problem with a computer system at the core of
the dispute.
November 2018: A High Court trial, where subpostmasters are suing the Post
Office for damages caused by an allegedly faulty IT system, ends second
week.
November 2018: Post Office director admits to Horizon errors and not
sharing details with subpostmaster network.
November 2018: The High Court trial in which subpostmasters are suing the
Post Office has reached an important stage.
December 2018: CCRC may hold off subpostmaster decision until after Post
Office Horizon trial.
December 2018: Court case where subpostmasters are suing the Post Office
set to span at least four trials and extend into 2020.
January 2019: Subpostmasters’ campaign group attacks Post Office CEO Paula
Vennells’ New Year honour amid ongoing court case.
January 2019: Thousands of known errors on controversial Post Office
computer system to be revealed.
March 2019: Tech under spotlight at High Court in second subpostmasters
versus Post Office trial.
March 2019: Post Office considered Horizon IT system “high-risk”, court
told.
March 2019: CCRC watching Post Office Horizon trial closely.
March 2019: Judge rules that Post Office showed “oppressive behaviour” in
response to claimants accused of accounting errors they blamed on Horizon
IT system.
March 2019: Post Office “lacked humanity” in the treatment of
subpostmasters, says peer.
March 2019: A High Court judge heard that the Post Office did not
investigate a computer system error that could cause losses, despite being
offered evidence.
March 2019: The Post Office legal team in the case brought by more than 500
subpostmasters has called for the judge to be recused after questioning his
impartiality.
March 2019: A senior civil servant asked the Post Office to repay public
money it had wrongly allocated to paying legal costs.
April 2019: Subpostmaster claimants’ legal team makes application for the
Post Office to pay millions of pounds of costs associated with trial.
April 2019: Post Office to appeal judgment from first Horizon trial.
April 2019: The Post Office’s claim that the judge overseeing the case
concerning its controversial Horizon IT system was biased has been
dismissed.
April 2019: MP questions government over Post Office Horizon case.
April 2019: Government says no conflict of interest in trial despite Post
Office chairman’s dual role.
May 2019: The Court of Appeal has refused the Post Office’s application to
appeal a major decision in the Horizon IT trial.
May 2019: The Post Office has applied for permission to appeal judgments
from the first trial in its IT-related legal battle with subpostmasters.
May 2019: The judge in the Post Office Horizon trial has ordered the
organisation to pay the legal costs of its courtroom adversaries, and
refused to give permission to appeal a major judgment.
June 2019: Post Office asks Court of Appeal for permission to appeal
judgment in first Horizon trial.
July 2019: The Post Office has admitted that some subpostmasters are at
risk of accounts not balancing due to an error it does not understand.
July 2019: Problem revealed during High Court trial left subpostmaster with
£18,000 surplus after IT system failed to register full amount of cash
scanned in.
August 2019: Subpostmasters suffering slow running and frozen terminals
while Post Office searches for a fix to issues apparently caused by a
software update.
August 2019: The Post Office has fixed the latest problems with its Horizon
system, affecting hundreds of branches.
October 2019: A High Court judgment for a trial that focused on the Post
Office’s IT system at the centre of a multimillion-pound litigation will be
announced early next month.
November 2019: The Court of Appeal has rejected a Post Office application
to appeal judgments made in its multimillion-pound battle with
subpostmasters over IT system failures.
November 2019: Peer calls for clear-out of Post Office board after Court of
Appeal confirms major court defeat.
December 2019: The Post Office has settled its long-running legal dispute
with subpostmasters, and will pay £57.75m in damages.
December 2019: Subpostmansters ended their legal battle with the Post
Office at the optimal time, according to the lawyer that managed the High
Court action.
December 2019: Subpostmansters proved right on IT system failures as calls
for full public inquiry mount.
December 2019: Criminal Courts Review Commission to review Horizon judgment
“swiftly”.
December 2019: National Federation of Subpostmasters cries foul after court
ruling on controversial computer system.
December 2019: Former Post Office CEO apologises to subpostmasters over
Horizon scandal.
December 2019: Call for former Post Office CEO to step down from public
roles after IT court battle lost.
January 2020: Fujitsu must face scrutiny following Post Office Horizon
trial judgment.
January 2020: Subpostmaster group calls for government to pay legal costs
for Horizon trial.
January 2020: Why subpostmasters are calling on the government to pay
Horizon trial costs.
January 2020: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy says it
did not make decisions in the Post Office’s recent court battle.
January 2020: Government should not be allowed to dismiss subpostmasters’
claims over Horizon IT scandal.
January 2020: Police sent information about potential Fujitsu staff perjury
in subpostmaster prosecutions.
January 2020: Prosecutions are a significant step closer to being sent to
the Court of Appeal as Criminal Courts Review Commission forms a group of
commissioners to review them.
January 2020: Alan Bates: The “details man” the Post Office paid the price
for ignoring.
February 2020: The government has refused to pay the huge legal costs
subpostmasters incurred in their battle with the government-owned Post
Office, which they won.
February 2020: Members of Parliament seeking a public inquiry into the Post
Office Horizon scandal face huge challenges, but pressure and time could
force justice.
February 2020: Calls for inquiry into Post Office IT scandal increase in
Parliament, with cross-party support.
February 2020: Care Quality Commission to review concerns over Paula
Vennells’ appointment after they were raised by a former NHS consultant
psychiatrist.
February 2020: Government admits it was too passive managing Post Office as
parliamentary pressure builds.
February 2020: Minister says Post Office IT experts misled the government
when it asked questions about subpostmasters’ concerns over Horizon IT
system.
March 2020: Boris Johnson commits to “getting to the bottom of” Post Office
Horizon IT scandal.
March 2020: Boris Johnson’s commitment to inquiry into Post Office scandal
in doubt.
March 2020: MPs call on PM to commit to full public inquiry into Post
Office Horizon IT scandal.
March 2020: Those who did not play by the rules in Post Office Horizon
scandal “should face prosecution”.
March 2020: MPs told to hold to account those responsible for Post Office
Horizon IT scandal.
March 2020: The Post Office has sparked anger with secret settlements with
subpostmasters outside the recent legal action against it.
March 2020: Labour MP Karl Turner tells Computer Weekly that the Post
Office Horizon scandal is the most grotesque version of predatory
capitalism he has ever seen.
March 2020: MP Kevan Jones has warned a government minister not to repeat
the mistakes of predecessors in relation to the Post Office Horizon IT
scandal.
March 2020: Criminal Cases Review Commission to use Microsoft Teams to
ensure review of subpostmaster prosecutions is held on time.
March 2020: Post Office postpones subpostmaster compensation scheme amid
Covid-19 crisis.
March 2020: Meeting reviewing subpostmaster applications to appeal criminal
prosecutions moves into second day.
March 2020: Subpostmaster prosecutions to be considered by Court of Appeal
for miscarriages of justice.
March 2020: How subpostmasters made legal history with biggest referral of
potential miscarriages of justice.
April 2020: Met Police examines information about evidence given in court
by Fujitsu staff on the Horizon IT system.
May 2020: Subpostmasters who had their lives ruined by the Post Office’s
faulty IT system have received their damages after a High Court victory.
May 2020: A senior Post Office executive at the centre of an IT scandal,
who tried to mislead a High Court judge in relation to it, has left the
organisation without fanfare despite many years of service.
May 2020: Post Office re-examines hundreds of prosecutions that could have
resulted from faults in Horizon IT system.
June 2020: A campaign group representing subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted
for theft and false accounting by the Post Office is raising money to help
clear the names of victims of the scandal.
June 2020: Subpostmasters to force scrutiny of government’s role in Post
Office IT scandal.
June 2020: The Criminal Cases Review Commission sends 47 more subpostmaster
cases to Court of Appeal and asks government to review private prosecution
powers.
June 2020: Select committee chair writes to former Post Office CEO
demanding answers over her role in IT scandal.
June 2020: The government has been accused of launching a review that fails
in getting to the bottom of one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in
UK history.
June 2020: Subpostmasters will not cooperate with government review into IT
scandal.
June 2020: The government’s proposed review of the Post Office IT scandal
has received a further setback as forensic accountants join subpostmasters
in refusing to back it.
June 2020: Call for government review of Post Office Horizon scandal to
have the power to force individuals to give evidence under oath.
June 2020: Subpostmasters seeking justice in the Post Office Horizon IT
scandal are regaining momentum in Parliament.
June 2020: Healthcare regulator will be discussing concerns about former
NHS boss chairing an NHS trust at an upcoming meeting.
June 2020: Second Sight is working with law firm in appeals by
subpostmasters against criminal convictions in Horizon IT scandal.
June 2020: Post Office and Fujitsu blame each other for many of the
failings in the Horizon IT scandal that wrecked lives.
June 2020: Parliamentary Justice Committee to hold short inquiry into the
rules and regulations surrounding private organisations’ ability to
initiate criminal proceedings.
July 2020: Victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal need to raise
thousands of pounds in a week or those responsible for their suffering will
avoid scrutiny.
July 2020: The government is set to face scrutiny over its involvement in
the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, described as one of the biggest
miscarriages of justice in modern UK history.
September 2020: The government repeats that it won’t pay victims’ legal
costs and confirms review into the scandal will not have the power to call
witnesses.
September 2020: Subpostmasters still not being told about all the known
errors in the controversial Post Office branch accounting and retail system
that they use.
October 2020: The Post Office has chosen not to contest 44 out of 47
appeals, meaning most are likely to have their names cleared, but others
still face a Court of Appeal battle for justice.
October 2020: MPs are demanding the government holds a full statutory
public inquiry into the Post Office IT scandal.
October 2020: NHS regulator continues enquiries about the appointment of
former Post Office CEO at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as more
damning details emerge.
October 2020: Government minister met with former subpostmaster online in
an attempt to get victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal involved in
government review.
October 2020: The Post Office is focusing urgently on fixing an IT error
suffered by a subpostmaster amid the ongoing IT scandal.
October 2020: Labour politicians are calling for the government to give the
Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry the power to force witnesses to give
evidence if they don’t cooperate.
October 2020: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has asked for external
review of its process when appointing controversial executive.
November 2020: Government faces scrutiny of its handling of the Post Office
IT scandal that destroyed subpostmasters’ lives and livelihoods.
November 2020: Post Office branches offline during busy business hours
after suffering an IT error that the Post Office said related to IT from
supplier Fujitsu.
November 2020: Fujitsu is refusing to explain what caused a national system
outage in Post Office branches last week, despite the Post Office
confirming the issue was the fault of the supplier.
November 2020: The Metropolitan Police opens criminal investigation into
Fujitsu staff who gave evidence in trials of subpostmasters wrongly
prosecuted and even imprisoned for financial crimes.
November 2020: Post Office criticised over vagueness of its explanation of
the cause of a UK-wide IT failure that saw subpostmasters unable to do
business.
November 2020: Post Office says planned firmware update caused the problem
that left branches unable to do business for 90 minutes.
November 2020: Court documents reveal the names of the Fujitsu employees
under investigation for potentially providing misleading information in
criminal trials.
November 2020: The government allowed the Post Office to ‘run amok’ and
destroy lives, says complaint to Parliamentary Ombudsman.
November 2020: Campaigning politician demands access to documents that
could prove that the Post Office lied.
December 2020: Government denies responsibility for the abuse inflicted on
subpostmasters by the Post Office over faulty IT system.
December 2020: CEO at the centre of the scandal that saw innocent people
bankrupted and some sent to prison steps down from NHS role as pressure for
her resignation grows.
December 2020: History made as subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted in Horizon
IT scandal have convictions quashed.
December 2020: The appointment of a former Post Office executive, who tried
to mislead a judge, in the Football Association of Wales has been
questioned by an MP.
December 2020: Court of Appeal indicates subpostmasters can pursue appeal
route that could do more damage to Post Office’s reputation.
January 2021: NHS trust defends its director appointment process following
an external review of its recruitment of former Post Office CEO Paula
Vennells.
January 2021: Lawyers call for changes to digital evidence rule that made
it easier for the Post Office to ‘bamboozle courts’ and make subpostmasters
pay a heavy price for its IT failings.
January 2021: The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred four
more subpostmasters’ criminal convictions to appeal, as part of the biggest
miscarriage of justice in modern UK history.
February 2021: A former senior developer who worked for Fujitsu on the Post
Office IT system that led to subpostmasters being falsely accused of fraud,
has claimed bosses knew of fundamental flaws before going live.
February 2021: Subpostmasters call for Boris Johnson to pause and reshape
the government’s Horizon inquiry.
February 2021: Vote of no confidence in Football Association of Wales boss
triggered by recruitment of former Post Office executive who tried to
mislead a judge in IT trial.
March 2021: Government agrees to change private prosecution rules that were
abused by the Post Office in its pursuit of subpostmasters wrongly accused
of financial crimes.
March 2021: Subpostmaster victims who have spent millions bringing the Post
Office IT scandal to light have received no reply to their concerns from
Boris Johnson.
March 2021: MP condemns department’s ‘bizarre’ rejection of freedom of
information request linked to Post Office IT scandal.
March 2021: Football Association Wales boss steps down after losing
confidence motion triggered by appointment of an executive involved in the
Post Office IT scandal.
March 2021: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is
reviewing five cases of potential miscarriage of justice in relation to
subpostmaster prosecutions.
March 2021: Subpostmasters heading to Court of Appeal to clear their names
in what is potentially the biggest miscarriage of justice in English legal
history.
March 2021: The Post Office does not have enough money to pay compensation
to the subpostmasters it wrongfully prosecuted.
March 2021: Angela van den Bogerd has left her role at the Football
Association of Wales, following criticism of her part in Post Office IT
scandal.
March 2021: Court of Appeal hearing reveals Post Office instructed
employees to destroy documents that undermined an insistence that its
Horizon computer system was robust.
March 2021: The Post Office was warned that a former Fujitsu employee had
misled courts when giving evidence on its behalf.
March 2021: Boris Johnson agrees with MP that those responsible for the
Post Office Horizon scandal should be brought to book.
March 2021: Former Post Office chief was paid over £400,000 when she left
despite the organisation being involved in what would become the biggest
miscarriage of justice in UK history.
April 2021: The UK government faces a potential judicial review over its
Post Office Horizon IT scandal inquiry, after subpostmasters formally wrote
to the government seeking one.
April 2021: The government is listening to calls for changes in how digital
evidence is considered in court, as Post Office IT scandal spells out
current rule’s inadequacy.
April 2021: The Post Office's controversial contract with Fujitsu has been
extended another year to help the organisation manage its exit.
April 2021: The Post Office is to move work done by Fujitsu in-house when
its outsourcing contract ends, and is already recruiting IT experts.
April 2021: The Post Office has revealed the end to its controversial
Horizon IT system which, through its errors and the Post Office's denial of
them, caused huge suffering.
April 2021: The UK government is the only block to fair compensation for
subpostmasters who were wrongly punished for accounting shortfalls.
April 2021: The Court of Appeal has overturned the criminal convictions of
39 subpostmasters who were blamed and punished for accounting shortfalls
caused by computer errors.
April 2021: Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells has left roles in the
church, Morrisons and Dunelm after postmasters’ convictions were overturned
in the Court of Appeal.
April 2021: The biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history is set to get
bigger as more subpostmasters take their cases to the Court of Appeal.
May 2021: Post Office IT scandal CEO has no excuse for her inaction in
preventing the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history, says Criminal
Cases Review Commission chairperson.
May 2021: Subpostmasters, MPs and the public call for a full statutory
judge-led public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal, following
another damning court judgment.
May 2021: Government says it wants to ensure a fair pay-out for the 555
subpostmasters who defeated the Post Office in a legal battle.
May 2021: The Post Office has contacted hundreds of people it might have
wrongly prosecuted for financial crimes.
May 2021: The miscarriages of justice involving subpostmasters are the most
disturbing element of the Post Office Horizon scandal – but it goes much
deeper.
May 2021: The supplier at the centre of the Post Office Horizon scandal has
so far escaped the ramifications of its role in the biggest miscarriage of
justice in UK history.
May 2021: Another two former subpostmasters have had their convictions for
financial crimes overturned, following a hearing in Southwark Crown Court.
May 2021: The government inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is
set to be made statutory with the power to compel witnesses and evidence.
May 2021: The government confirmed that the inquiry into the Post Office
Horizon IT scandal will be given statutory status and wider scope.
May 2021: The Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance has agreed to meet the
former judge heading up the inquiry into the Post Office scandal that
ruined the lives of hundreds of subpostmasters.
May 2021: Criminal Cases Review Commission will not allow pressure on its
resources to prevent subpostmasters seeking a review of their criminal
convictions.
May 2021: Professional IT body wants changes to how computer evidence is
used in court in the wake of the Post Office case.
June 2021: The Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry begins with
subpostmaster campaign group waiting for full details before committing its
support.
June 2021: Whatever the Post Office told government about its decision to
sack investigators examining subpostmaster prosecutions for theft could
identify if the government was part of a cover-up.
June 2021: The Post Office has so far compensated about 400 subpostmasters
who suffered losses as a result of computer errors that they were wrongly
blamed for.
July 2021: Another 10 subpostmasters are set to have their criminal
convictions quashed as part of one of the biggest miscarriage of justice in
British history.
July 2021: The government has made no contact with subpostmasters two
months after it said it would work with them to ensure they get speedy and
fair compensation.
July 2021: The cost of a scheme set up to compensate subpostmasters who
were victims of the Horizon IT scandal will exceed £300m.
July 2021: The government will pay interim compensation within weeks to
subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted of crimes due to computer errors.
August 2021: A further four subpostmasters are set to have their wrongful
convictions overturned in the latest development in the Post Office Horizon
scandal.
August 2021: The government has failed to provide fair compensation to the
subpostmasters who exposed the full extent of the Horizon scandal to the
world.
August 2021: Subpostmasters demand more clarity on Horizon public inquiry
before committing their support.
September 2021: Six more subpostmaster convictions referred for appeal in
Post Office IT scandal.
September 2021: Government minister holds secret meeting with Post Office
Horizon scandal victims.
October 2021: The public inquiry into a scandal that saw subpostmasters
imprisoned after being blamed for accounting shortfalls will hold its first
public hearing early next month.
October 2021: A government minister investigating the controversial Horizon
IT project in 2000 described the Post Office board of directors as
‘appalling, short-sighted and partisan’.
November 2021: The behaviour of Post Office senior management during the
Horizon scandal was so egregious that the supplier of the faulty software
has escaped a large financial penalty.
November 2021: Former Fujitsu staff who gave evidence in subpostmaster
trials have been questioned by police for a second time.
November 2021: Former subpostmasters convicted of crimes based on data from
error-prone Post Office computer system continue to embark on appeals.
November 2021: The first hearing in the Post Office Horizon scandal public
inquiry hears why victims should be paid compensation immediately.
November 2021:The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is
investigating eight potential miscarriages of justice linked with faulty
Post Office IT system.
November 2021: The Post Office will waive professional legal privilege for
documents relating to legal advice it received regarding subpostmaster
prosecutions.
November 2021 A total number of 65 subpostmasters have now had criminal
convictions overturned in Post Office Horizon scandal.
November 2021 Subpostmasters asked to withdraw support for Post Office
scandal inquiry.
November 2021: Seven more subpostmasters have been cleared after the Post
Office charged them for crimes caused by its faulty Horizon software.
November 2021: The Post Office made clear its support for a change in UK
law regarding computer evidence that was making prosecution ‘onerous’ – a
change which later helped to wrongfully convict subpostmasters.
November 2021: The chair of the Post Office scandal public inquiry has
confirmed the compensation of a group of subpostmasters will be revisited.
December 2021: Government must go further after agreeing to pay
compensation for wrongly convicted subpostmasters.
December 2021: Pressure on government to pay fair compensation to
subpostmasters left out of current schemes.
January 2022: Almost 100 MPs have backed a call for the government to
reverse its decision to exclude 555 subpostmasters from fair compensation.
January 2022: A parliamentary select committee was told that the Post
Office is unable to access information to accurately calculate compensation
for some Horizon scandal victims.
January 2022: The Post Office received subsidies worth over £1bn last year,
including a £685m payment just last month, in a scheme labelled Post Office
Historical Matters Compensation.
January 2022: Government widens subpostmaster miscarriage of justice
compensation scheme in Horizon scandal.
January 2022: Government officials are open to finding a way to properly
compensate victims of the Horizon scandal without setting a dangerous legal
precedent.
January 2022: The subpostmaster campaign group responsible for exposing the
Post Office Horizon scandal is to meet with the government to discuss fair
compensation for their suffering.
January 2022: Fujitsu cannot hide away as taxpayers pick up the bill for
the Post Office scandal triggered by its IT system, say peers.
February 2022: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are being denied
the millions of pounds they are owed as the government delays compensation
resolution.
February 2022: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are due to tell
their devastating stories to the statutory inquiry.
February 2022: MPs are demanding urgent action by the government to provide
full compensation to a group of 555 Post Office Horizon scandal victims who
have so far been left out.
February 2022: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been
suffering in silence for many years, but the current public inquiry is
giving them a voice, and people are listening.
February 2022: Horizon inquiry questioning raises hopes of fair
compensation for victims so far left out.
February 2022: Government set to backtrack on untenable position on
subpostmaster compensation.
March 2022: The Post Office and Fujitsu failed to alert subpostmasters to a
software error that caused them to be wrongly blamed for accounting
shortfalls.
March 2022: Horizon inquiry hearing sheds light on subpostmaster
federation’s role in hushing up IT problems.
March 2022: 555 subpostmasters to get fair compensation after government
U-turn on its stance on High Court settlement.
March 2022: Compensation goal finally in sight for 555 Post Office scandal
victims, after 13 year campaign.
April 2022: Fujitsu bags £430m government contracts despite rising cost of
Post Office Horizon scandal.
April 2022: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission expects more
subpostmasters with potential wrongful convictions to come forward.
April 2022: Former subpostmasters who were wrongfully convicted and
punished for crimes have not yet received full compensation over a year
after their convictions were overturned.
April 2022: A former Fujitsu worker has been questioned under caution for
the third time as police investigate potential perjury in trials of
subpostmasters wrongfully convicted of financial crimes.
May 2022: Paula Vennells could be stripped of her CBE as the Honours
Forfeiture Committee commits to reconsider its award in the light of the
Post Office Horizon scandal.
May 2022: Lawyer negotiating compensation for victims of Post Office
scandal says the two sides are ‘poles apart’ on valuations.
May 2022: Inquiry into Post Office scandal moves to Scotland, with
differences in English and Scottish law raising further serious questions
about subpostmaster prosecutions.
May 2022: The chair of the Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry has brought
forward hearings about compensation as victims warn that at this rate
“people will die” before they get anything.
May 2022: The Criminal Cases Review Commission is to contact 88 more
potentially wrongfully convicted Post Office workers.
May 2022: The Post Office Horizon IT system at the centre of a national
scandal will be replaced by 2025, with a supplier expected to be named in
August.
May 2022: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in Scotland raise
further questions about Post Office and government conduct.
May 2022: Government accused of ‘passing the buck’ and ‘not knowing what it
is talking about’ after stating it has no plans to review court rules on
computer evidence.
May 2022: Computer Weekly spoke to the barristers at Henderson Chambers
that fought the Post Office in the High Court to expose the widest
miscarriage of justice in UK history.
June 2022: Two more Post Office Horizon scandal victims have had their
wrongful convictions overturned.
June 2022: The 555 subpostmasters who exposed the depth of the Post Office
Horizon scandal could finally be fairly compensated.
June 2022: Forensic accounting firm that ‘knows where the bodies are
buried’ will be released from confidentiality obligations by the Post
Office to give evidence to public inquiry.
June 2022: Lawyers negotiating the compensation valuations for former
subpostmasters who suffered wrongful convictions have brought in
independent judicial scrutiny to break an impasse.
June 2022: Subpostmaster campaign group is a step closer to achieving what
it was originally set up to do as government launches compensation scheme
for its members who did not receive fair payouts.
July 2022: More former subpostmasters have their wrongful convictions for
theft and fraud overturned in the Court of Appeal.
July 2022: When the Post Office’s lie about the Horizon system failed to
silence subpostmaster critics, it took more extreme measures, say victims
of the scandal.
September 2022: The Met Police have interviewed a former subpostmaster as
part of an investigation into potential perjury by former Fujitsu staff.
September 2022: Chair of statutory public inquiry into the Post Office
Horizon scandal has aired his disappointment over the slow progress in
making interim payments to victims.
October 2022: The public inquiry into the Post Office scandal has begun
phase two with a request for adjournment amid allegations that the Post
Office is failing to disclose relevant documents.
October 2022: Victims demand that the perpetrators of the Post Office
Horizon IT scandal face the public inquiry.
October 2022: Fujitsu’s part in causing the extreme suffering of
subpostmasters will be made clear as the IT supplier begins giving evidence
at a statutory inquiry.
October 2022: A dereliction of duty saw subpostmaster federation ignore its
members when IT problems hit and allowed the Post Office destroy their
lives.
October 2022: Politicians are keeping up the pressure to block government
contracts being awarded to Fujitsu because of its role in the Post Office
Horizon scandal.
October 2022: Problems reported with the Post Office’s Horizon IT system
before its roll-out should have been regarded as a “show-stopper”.
October 2022: Horizon system code writers lacked basic programming skills,
according to the task force set up to investigate reported problems with
the controversial software.
October 2022: Trials of the Horizon computer system in Post Office branches
in 1999 led to a warning from subpostmasters that software problems meant
“a tragedy was not far away”.
November 2022: ‘Hardball’ negotiations between the government, the Post
Office and ICL meant subpostmasters were ignored and thrown into a tragedy
that could have been averted.
November 2022: Post Office investigators were so convinced that
subpostmasters were cooking the books that they failed to investigate
alleged IT problems, a public inquiry has been told.
November 2022: SCCRC has referred six cases of potential wrongful
convictions of subpostmasters to the High Court of Justiciary.
November 2022: A former Fujitsu technology expert who defended the Horizon
system’s robustness in court was unhappy after being ‘manoeuvred’ into
acting as an expert witness.
November 2022: Insider tells public inquiry that the Post Office continued
to roll out the controversial Horizon system despite a ‘considerable’
number of errors, because it was too committed.
November 2022: Former members of the ICL team developing software for the
Post Office Horizon EPOSS system were unqualified and engaged in poor
software development practices.
November 2022: The Post Office IT scandal inquiry’s appointed expert IT
witness was “troubled” by the lack of integrity of data from the Horizon
system that was used to send people to prison.
November 2022: Telegram from British Embassy in Tokyo to UK government
reveals pressure on ministers to sign off controversial contract.
November 2022: The National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP)
deliberately kept stories of Horizon errors quiet because it “did not want
to kill the project”.
December 2022: The Post Office was ‘keen’ to make subpostmasters cover
unexplained accounting shortfall as its business struggled, public inquiry
hears.
December 2022: The second phase of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal
raised more questions over who did what, when and where, with shocking
revelations at every turn.
December 2022: The Criminal Cases Review Commission wants former
subpostmasters to come forward if they think they were prosecuted by the
Post Office based on data from the Horizon computer system.
January 2023: Alan Bates, who fought for decades to expose the Post Office
Horizon IT scandal, says it would be inappropriate to accept an OBE when
former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells holds

Advisory board goal for Post Office scandal victims to be returned to rightful financial position

Gunnar Larson

Gunnar Larson

Gunnar Larson

Gunnar Larson

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