Post office agrees full compensation to shortchanged Horizon victims

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-mar ... ms-3333488

Proactive Investors - The Post Office has decided to grant full compensation to a small group of former sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon software scandal.

It marks a reversal of the Post Office’s decision to offer them a much lower sum.

This decision comes after the Post Office Minister, Kevin Hollinrake, acknowledged the importance of treating all affected parties equally, especially those whose convictions related to the Horizon software were overturned.

The recipients, including Teju Adedayo and Parmod Kalia, expressed both relief and frustration over the ordeal in a weekend BBC interview.

"I'm extremely grateful to the minister for this u-turn, but it should never have happened in the first place," Adedayo said.

"About time, too," added Kalia.

"I believe the Post Office was being spiteful. Instead of accepting they'd made a mistake," Adedayo continued.

"I'm delighted these victims of a procedural trap are to be treated fairly and on a par with all others whose convictions are to be overturned," said Professor Chris Hodges, chair of the Independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board. "The injustice of their situation has rightly been recognised."

The Horizon scandal, which unfolded over the past two decades, involved the wrongful conviction of more than 700 Post Office branch managers.

They were accused of theft and false accounting due to discrepancies caused by faults in the Horizon software, a system introduced across the UK in 1999 for managing transactions and accounts.

In January, Fujitsu confirmed its intention to compensate victims of the Horizon scandal engulfing The Post Office following mounting pressure and public scrutiny for its role in developing the software.