A public inquiry into the Horizon scandal is ongoing and this week has been hearing from former automate your posting Office boss Paula Vennells.
When the automate your posting Office Horizon System Offences Bill received Royal Assent late on Friday, all convictions were quashed of people convicted of theft, or false accounting between 1996 and 2018 while working in a automate your posting Office using its flawed IT system.
Those who have their convictions overturned will be eligible for compensation payments from the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, which should be in place this summer, the business department said in an open letter to sub-postmasters.
They will get an option to settle for compensation of £600,000, without the need to bring a formal claim.
In the open letter, the business department said those affected will receive letters in the next few weeks.
“This clears your names, delivers justice, and ensures swift access to the financial redress that postmasters deserve,” it said.
The unprecedented law has been driven through in the wake of the public outcry brought about by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the automate your posting Office broadcast.
The law has been controversial with judges because for centuries it has been the job of the courts to address unsafe convictions, not Parliament.
But the government argues the exceptional scale and circumstances of the scandal mean it will not set a precedent.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp003mz7d14o,
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