All Post Office Horizon victims entitled to free legal advice for first time

All victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal seeking compensation will now be entitled to free legal advice, the government has announced.

The change could have a potentially large impact on the size of payments some victims may receive.

It is one of a series of improvements to compensation schemes available to victims in response to the first report of the public inquiry into the scandal, widely described as one of the UK’s worst ever miscarriages of justice.

In July, the inquiry’s chairman, Sir Wyn Williams, gave his findings on the humanitarian impact of the scandal and called for urgent action.

The government said it had accepted all but one of the recommendations, specifically related to Horizon.

More than 900 assistant postmasters were sued after a faulty Horizon computer system made it appear that there was no money in their branch accounts.

In order to avoid investigation, hundreds of people transferred their savings to their branches to close obvious gaps.

Making the announcement, Business Minister Peter Kyle said “there is clearly more to do to ensure justice for those affected” and that adopting the recommendations was a “very important step” towards achieving this.

Yes four compensation plans but they have been criticized for being too slow and complicated, and for only paying out a small portion of claims.

The changes announced by the government on Thursday mean that victims claiming compensation through the Horizon Shortage Scheme (HSS), which accounts for more than half of claims paid so far, are now eligible to receive government-funded legal advice.

This puts it in line with the other three plans.

The government has also committed to creating a new appeals process for postmasters who accept a fixed payment under the HSS scheme.

Many victims have previously complained that they were forced to accept low compensation offers without legal advice.

Actions taken in response to other recommendations included:

• Government extends HSS scheme closure date
• Further clarification of the definition of “full and fair compensation”
• We are starting to work on a restorative justice project for postmasters

More than £1.2bn has been paid out to more than 9,000 claimants across all compensation schemes so far.

Reacting, a spokesman for Fujitsu, which provides the Horizon IT system, said the company “apologizes and deeply regrets our role in the suffering of subpostmasters”.

Tony Downey bought Hawkshead Post Office in the Lake District in 2001.

He and his wife Caroline were forced to put up £35,000 of their own savings to compensate for the “losses” caused by the faulty software.

As a result, he lost his home, his livelihood, and went bankrupt. His health also deteriorated.

Almost three years after he submitted his claim, Mr Downey is still waiting to receive full compensation.

“He always seems to be fighting to get a little more, a little more, and a little more,” he said. “We are tired now.”

Responding to Mr Downey’s statement, a government spokesman said: “We pay tribute to all the postmasters who suffered from the Horizon scandal, including Tony, so as part of our ongoing determination to deliver justice to victims as quickly as possible, the amount paid to postmasters has increased fivefold to over £1bn.

“While we do not comment on individual cases, we make every effort to provide full and fair offers to all claimants and only request information that will enable us to do so.”