‘Excessive legal threats used to silence those who tried to expose the Post Office Horizon scandal and allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed should be outlawed, a cross-party group of MPs have said.’
The Guardian, 21st November 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Post Office has recently explored resuming the practice of taking branch owner-operators to court, as mounting losses from shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets hit £12m a year. During the Horizon IT scandal more than 900 operators were wrongly prosecuted over discrepancies caused by the faulty accounting software, many of them brought privately by the Post Office, a practice it stopped in 2015 and has promised not to restart. However, the Post Office continued to use the court system for the civil recovery of losses from branches until 2018.’
The Guardian, 13th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A former sub-postmaster serving life in prison for murdering his wife is seeking a fresh appeal of his conviction, arguing the Post Office Inquiry has shed new light on his case.’
BBC News, 3rd October 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The adversarial nature of the compensation scheme for victims of the Post Office scandal is preventing them securing timely redress.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th September 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The efforts of the chancellor Rachel Reeves to get control of Britain’s finances are being hampered by a massive £47bn bill in outstanding compensation claims which could balloon even further, The Independent can reveal. Analysis of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) showed £84bn has been pledged by previous governments, with 12 compensation schemes for injustice, cover-ups and negligence.’
The Independent, 11th August 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The new Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, needs to recognise the need for an overhaul of the legal regulatory regime, the new chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel has argued.’
Legal Futures, 22nd July 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Largely thanks to the prime-time ITV dramatization, the Post Office Horizon scandal has brought to light the serious shortcomings in the way the Post Office handled the private prosecution of sub-postmasters. Whilst this has shocked the nation, unfortunately the actions of the Post Office in its role as prosecutor comes as no surprise for those with experience of public prosecutors.’
Mills & Reeve, 26th June 2024
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
‘International Distribution Services (IDS) has been served with an £878m action by a newly formed company that said it represents an estimated 290,000 customers who claim they were overcharged as a result of Royal Mail’s behaviour.’
The Guardian, 20th June 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘For the first time, by way of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act (“the Act”), Parliament has legislated to quash criminal convictions. In this post I will argue that, no matter how understandable, indeed laudable, the intention behind this legislation, in its haste to offer a speedy and comprehensive correction to mass injustice, Parliament has crossed a constitutional line and ventured into territory that is properly the preserve of the courts.’
UK Constitutional Law Association , 3rd June 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Police are planning to deploy 80 detectives for their criminal inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the Guardian has learned, but victims will face a long wait to discover if charges will follow.’
The Guardian, 27th May 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Conservatives and Labour have held talks to work out what outstanding legislation can be rushed through parliament to become law before the Commons closes for the general election.’
The Independent, 23rd May 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘An estimated 736 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 2000 and 2014, Horizon software having been first introduced in 1999, and responsibility for prosecutions, in all but exceptional cases, being handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2014. Many of those prosecuted were imprisoned, 4 committed suicide and all faced the stigma and stress of criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeal in Hamilton v Post Office Limited [2021] EWCA Crim 577 quashed 39 convictions (of the 42 appellants) on the basis that there had been an abuse of process on two grounds: that a fair trial was impossible and that it was an affront to public conscience for the appellants to have faced prosecution. This judgment followed the Post Office Group Litigation in the High Court before Fraser J known as Bates and Others v The Post Office Limited [2019] EWHC 3408.’
Guildhall Chambers, 11th March 2024
Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk
‘A post office operator who was wrongly prosecuted while pregnant has rejected a Post Office executive’s apology for having sent an email celebrating her conviction as “brilliant news”.’
The Guardian, 11th April 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Post Office (Horizon system) offences bill, published on Wednesday, will quash the convictions of people resulting from the scandal, which involved hundreds being wrongly prosecuted on the basis of a faulty IT system. Here the Guardian explains the thinking behind the bill and why it is controversial.’
The Guardian, 13th March 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A new law will be introduced on Wednesday to clear the names of the hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted in the Post Office scandal.’
BBC News, 13th March 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton says she feels “survivor’s guilt” after settling with the Post Office over the Horizon IT scandal for an undisclosed sum.’
BBC News, 5th March 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Royal Mail is being sued for classifying delivery drivers as self-employed, enabling it to avoid paying sick pay and the minimum wage, in a case that mirrors a landmark gig economy legal ruling against Uber.’
The Guardian, 25th February 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Ministers have vowed to press ahead with legislation to automatically overturn convictions related to the Post Office Horizon scandal by the end of July.’
The Guardian, 22nd February 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A small group of former sub-postmasters whose convictions were overturned have finally been told they will receive full compensation.’
BBC News, 12th February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A former post office branch operator who suffered in silence and endured humiliation after being convicted of fraud based on evidence from the faulty Horizon IT system has had her conviction quashed by the court of appeal.’
The Guardian, 25th January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2024