Relatives of Post Office scandal victims to get compensation if they suffered, MPs told – UK politics live | Politics
Relatives of Post Office scandal victims to get compensation if they suffered, as inquiry recommends, MPs told
Thomas told MPs that the Post Office inquiry report showed how “blameless people were impoverished, bankrupted, stressed beyond beliefs, lost their jobs, their marriages, their reputations, their mental health, in some cases lost their lives” because of this scandal.
He said the government inherited a compensation scheme “which was widely seen as too slow, adversarial and legalistic”.
The government has now paid more almost £1.1bn in compensation, he said.
He said the government accepted the recommendation post office operators should be able to accept the best offer under the GLOS compensation scheme – without putting that at risk if go to the independent panel.
And he said the government accepted that compensation should be paid to relatives.
We will provide redress for family members of postmasters who suffered because of the scandal.
I have met the group Lost Chances for postmaster children who have campaigned with considerable courage on this issue.
Sir Wyn rightly recognises that designing a suitable compensation scheme for family members raises some very difficult issues.
Nonetheless, we want to look after those family members who suffered most, meeting Sir Wyn’s recommendation that we should give “redress to close family members of the most adversely affected by Horizon”.
Thomas said this scheme would be open to “close family members of existing Horizon claimants who themselves suffered personal injury, including psychological distress, because of their relative’s suffering”.
He said that, “other than in exceptional circumstances”, people would need to supply “contemporaneous and written evidence” of the injury they suffered.
Key events
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Labour says James McMurdock affair shows Reform UK can’t be trusted to uphold ‘high standards in public life’
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Thomas says he is sympathetic to inquiry’s call for permanent compensation body to be set up for scandals like this
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Relatives of Post Office scandal victims to get compensation if they suffered, as inquiry recommends, MPs told
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Post Office minister Gareth Thomas says government ‘very sympathetic’ to inquiry’s recommendations
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Sats results for schools rise, but still have not reached pre-Covid levels, DfE figures show
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Rishi Sunak takes job with Goldman Sachs
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James McMurdock says he no longer intends to return to Reform UK after inquiry into Covid loans concludes
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Resident doctors in England vote to strike over pay
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Government announces 50 road and rail upgrades, including train link between Bristol and Portishead
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Williams says compensation should also be available to family members affected by Post Office scandal
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Williams says having four compensation schemes was mistake, and problems will persist even if recommendations adopted
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Williams questions fairness of some of compensation payments paid under Horizon Shortfall scheme
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Williams says he wants government to say if it is accepting his recommendations within three months
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Williams says evidence of human impact of Post Office scandal ‘profoundly disturbing’
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Wyn Williams explains why Post Office inquiry human impact and compensation report being published first
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Around 1,000 people convicted on basis of Post Office Horizon evidence, and for some life became ‘close to unbearable’, report says
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Contemplating suicide was ‘common experience’ for victims of Post Office IT scandal, report says
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At least 10,000 people affected by Post Office IT scandal, inquiry report says
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Post Office scandal may have led to more than 13 suicides, inquiry finds
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Badenoch backs Tebbit over his ‘cricket test’, saying he, like her, wanted migrants to come to UK ‘because they love it’
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Risks from climate, pensions and bonds leave UK public finances ‘vulnerable’, OBR says
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UK government backs French police immobilising small boats, minister says
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Tebbit was ‘hero of modern Conservatism’, says Boris Johnson
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Eluned Morgan says Welsh Labour taking Reform UK ‘very seriously’ after 2nd poll says it could win Senedd elections
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Post Office Horizon IT inquiry to publish first volume of its final report
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Tebbit in his own words
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Badenoch leads tributes to Norman Tebbit, ‘icon’ of Thatcherism, praising his ‘stoicism and courage’
Labour says James McMurdock affair shows Reform UK can’t be trusted to uphold ‘high standards in public life’
Labour has said the James McMurdock affair show that Nigel Farage cannot be trusted to maintain high standards in public life. Commenting on McMurdock’s statement today (see 2.10pm), Ellie Reeves, the Labour chair, said:
After these serious allegations surfaced, Nigel Farage sat on his hands. He took no action against James McMurdock and instead outsourced the problem – that’s not leadership.
Reform has consistently claimed its vetting procedures are of the highest standards. Yet a man that was jailed for assaulting a woman and is now accused of ripping off taxpayers managed to slip through the net.
James McMurdock’s account of his own affairs doesn’t stack up. Nigel Farage must urgently come clean with the public about what he knew and when. Farage’s Reform has proven once again that they simply cannot uphold the high standards expected in public life.
Thomas says he is sympathetic to inquiry’s call for permanent compensation body to be set up for scandals like this
Thomas told MPs that, if another scandal of this type were to happen, he hoped the victims would not need to bring a “traumatic court case” to expose it.
And he said there was another lesson for the future.
If such another scandal happens, government must be set up to offer trusted redress from the very start.
Sir Wyn [Williams] argues that there should be a standing public body to deliver redress in any further scandal. (See 1.18pm.)
I have a considerable amount of sympathy with that argument, but clearly we shall need to analyse the options fully before we commit to it.
The report says, in recommendation 17:
As soon as is reasonably practicable, HM Government shall establish a standing public body which shall, when called upon to do so, devise, administer and deliver schemes for providing financial redress to persons who have been wronged by public bodies.
Relatives of Post Office scandal victims to get compensation if they suffered, as inquiry recommends, MPs told
Thomas told MPs that the Post Office inquiry report showed how “blameless people were impoverished, bankrupted, stressed beyond beliefs, lost their jobs, their marriages, their reputations, their mental health, in some cases lost their lives” because of this scandal.
He said the government inherited a compensation scheme “which was widely seen as too slow, adversarial and legalistic”.
The government has now paid more almost £1.1bn in compensation, he said.
He said the government accepted the recommendation post office operators should be able to accept the best offer under the GLOS compensation scheme – without putting that at risk if go to the independent panel.
And he said the government accepted that compensation should be paid to relatives.
We will provide redress for family members of postmasters who suffered because of the scandal.
I have met the group Lost Chances for postmaster children who have campaigned with considerable courage on this issue.
Sir Wyn rightly recognises that designing a suitable compensation scheme for family members raises some very difficult issues.
Nonetheless, we want to look after those family members who suffered most, meeting Sir Wyn’s recommendation that we should give “redress to close family members of the most adversely affected by Horizon”.
Thomas said this scheme would be open to “close family members of existing Horizon claimants who themselves suffered personal injury, including psychological distress, because of their relative’s suffering”.
He said that, “other than in exceptional circumstances”, people would need to supply “contemporaneous and written evidence” of the injury they suffered.
Post Office minister Gareth Thomas says government ‘very sympathetic’ to inquiry’s recommendations
In the Commons, Gareth Thomas, the business minister responsible for the Post Office, is making a statement about the report out today from the Post Office Horizon inquiry.
He says he is “very sympathetic” to the inquiry’s recommendations.
He says some will require “careful consideration”. But the government will respond to them by 10 October, as Sir Wyn Williams requested, he says. (See 12.47pm.)
Sats results for schools rise, but still have not reached pre-Covid levels, DfE figures show
The proportion of Year 6 pupils in England who met the expected standard in this year’s Sats exams has risen, but it is still below pre-pandemic levels, official statistics show.
As PA media reports, the key stage 2 results showed 62% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined this summer, up from 61% last year.
In 2019, 65% of pupils met the standard, according to the provisional Department for Education (DfE) data.
Teaching unions responded by restating calls for Sats to be abolished.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Educational Union, said:
NEU members tell us constantly that KS2 SATs narrow the curriculum and place unnecessary stress on many pupils, which school staff have to witness and mitigate against. We urge the government to scrap these harmful tests and view primary education as more than just this limited set of results.
And Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said:
It is time to change this system of statutory assessment which is of little benefit to teachers or children. School leaders have told us loud and clear that Sats do very little to inform future teaching and learning, support children’s progress, or help their transition to secondary school. They tell teachers nothing they don’t already know from working day in and day out with pupils.
These tests are instead used as an accountability tool to judge and compare school performance – and not even a reliable one at that. They are given disproportionate significance and heap pressure onto pupils and staff, causing unnecessary stress and in some cases harming their wellbeing.
Rishi Sunak takes job with Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs has appointed former prime minister Rishi Sunak as a senior adviser, PA Media reports. PA says:
The role, which will see Sunak return to Goldman after 21 years, is his first major position since resigning as lead of the Conservative Party following its general election defeat last year.
Sunak, who was prime minister between October 2022 and July 2024, is set to advise leaders across the firm and provide “insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape”.
The MP for Richmond and Northallerton worked for Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004.
Chairman and chief executive David Solomon said: “I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs in his new capacity as a senior advisor.
“In his role, he will work with leaders across the firm to advise our clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives and insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape.
“He will also spend time with our people around the world, contributing to our culture of ongoing learning and development.”
James McMurdock says he no longer intends to return to Reform UK after inquiry into Covid loans concludes
James McMurdock has issued a statement saying that he will continue his parliamentary career as an independent MP, implying that he has given up any intention of returning to Reform UK.
Further to my statement tweeted on 5th July 2025. I have now had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field. In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100% on the interests of my constituents.
McMurdock was one of five Reform UK MPs elected last July (he won South Basildon and East Thurrock with a majority of just 98). Rupert Lowe, another MP elected under the Reform banner at the election, has already left, meaning Nigel Farage has lost 40% of his 2024 intake (although he did gain another MP in a byelection, Sarah Pochin).
McMurdock’s departure was prompted by the publication of a report in the Sunday Timees saying that he took out two government loans, worth £70,000 in total, intended to help companies struggling during the Covid pandemic. McMurdock insisted the loans were lawful and proper, but the paper questioned whether the payments were appropriate given the size of the two companies, which did not have any employees.
On Saturday McMurdock said he was resigning the party whip pending an investigation into the allegations. He said he was doing that to protect the reputation of the party.
Today’s statement, which comes after Nigel Farage failed to defend him while on a visit yesterday, implies McMurdock’s relationship with Reform has now broken down.
Resident doctors in England vote to strike over pay
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted in favour of strikes that could result in industrial action lasting until January next year, the British Medical Association has announced. Denis Campbell has the story.
Government announces 50 road and rail upgrades, including train link between Bristol and Portishead
Jamie Grierson
Jamie Grierson is a senior Guardian reporter.
The West of England mayor was joined by political leaders at Bristol Temple Meads railway station today after plans to reopen the train line between the city and Portishead were given the green light as part of a wider package of transport investment announced by the government.
Metro mayor Helen Godwin, North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan and council leaders were marking what is promised to be the final hurdle in the long-winded saga to reopen the line. Trains have not run between Portishead, a town of around 27,000, and Bristol for 60 years.
The government has pledged a further £27m towards the £150m project as part of a broader announcement of funding for road and rail projects across England.
The Department of Transport gave the go ahead overnight to more than 50 road and rail upgrades including the long awaited A66 Northern Trans-Pennine route.
Five major road schemes in the north and Midlands are confirmed as funded including the M54 to M6 link road in Staffordshire.
Three new train stations and funding a Midlands Rail Hub, creating brand new rail links for more than 50 locations, was also announced.
Speaking at Bristol Temple Meads, Labour MP for North Somerset, Al-Hassan, said the final investment for the Portishead line emerged from the spending review. He said:
The spending review is good governance for the nation’s finances. That’s money from the taxpayer being looked at, looking what is on what line, how we’re spending it. And that hasn’t been done for over a decade. So this is all possible because we actually looked at the books and looked where the money’s going, and got rid of things that didn’t need to be on there.
You may have noticed, the government has a priority on growth … And if you’re looking for ways to do that, investments like the Portishead railway, increasing economic growth – an estimated £43m a year – that’s how you do it. So all of these projects that have been announced today is a commitment to growth on a regional and national level.
The Post Office Horizon IT inquiry has now published a seven-page summary of what today’s report says, and a press release version.
Williams says compensation should also be available to family members affected by Post Office scandal
Williams ended by saying that, when he started work on the inquiry, he was not familiar with the concept of restorative justice.
But, as the inquiry went on, calls for restorative justice became “louder and louder”, he said. He said the Post Office and Fujitsu embraced the concept “with what I might describe as varying degrees of enthusiasm”. He said he thought they would at least consider this approach. But nothing has happened. He urged the government to get involved.
He also said he thought compensation should be paid “to family members who have suffered serious adverse consequences as a result of the treatment meted out to their loved ones”.
Williams says he does not think victims, or the public, will ever accept that the conclusions of a redress scheme run by the organisation at fault are ever fully independent.
He says there is a case for setting up a compensation body which is truly independent to deal with cases like this.
But he says that could not happen quickly enough to be appropriate in this case.
He says there are more than 300 people who have been waiting more than five years for compensation in the HSS. It would be unfair to expect them to wait longer while a new system is set up, he says.
Williams says he agrees with the Commons business committee that the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) is the one in most need of improvement.
Williams says having four compensation schemes was mistake, and problems will persist even if recommendations adopted
Williams says, even if his recommendations are accepted in full, “they will not constitute some magic formula for removing all of the problems from which the [compensation] schemes suffer”.
He says he is critical of the Post Office and the government in relation to these schemes, “not least in relation to some of the egregious delays which have occurred”.
He says having four separate schemes was a mistake.
I cannot say plainly enough that there should not have been four distinct and separate schemes for delivering financial redress.
