£1bn paid to postmasters in Horizon scandal, says UK government

THE UK government said on Monday that more than £1 billion has been paid to self-employed managers of Post Office branches who were affected by faults in the Horizon accounting software.

The update comes a few weeks after Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who led the campaign for justice, criticised the compensation process, calling it “quasi-kangaroo courts”.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it had received 11,208 claims in total. Of these, 7,569 have been settled, while 3,709 are still pending.

Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted over 900 subpostmasters based on errors in Horizon, a software developed by Fujitsu. The system incorrectly showed shortfalls in branch accounts.

Many subpostmasters were forced to repay the shortfalls and later went bankrupt. Some were imprisoned and faced social stigma.

At least four people took their own lives, and several others died before they were exonerated.

In 2019, the High Court ruled that computer errors, not criminal behaviour, had led to the missing funds.

Alan Bates, who was knighted by King Charles III for his efforts to expose the issue, has criticised how the DBT is handling the assessment of claims.

"The department sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses," he told The Sunday Times last month.

Public attention around the case grew in January 2024 following a television drama about the subpostmasters’ experiences, which sparked widespread public reaction.

Following that, Fujitsu’s European director Paul Patterson appeared before a parliamentary committee and apologised for the firm’s role in prosecutions based on incorrect data. He said the company was “truly sorry” for “this appalling miscarriage of justice”.

Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said the government had prioritised faster payments since taking office in July 2024.

"We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)