The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation.
An award of £600,000 is on offer to the 86 postmasters who were falsely imprisoned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing.
Anyone who had their conviction overturned can take the payment instead of going through the full assessment of their loss. The only requirement is for the victim to prove they had their conviction overturned.
That process “can take time because these things are complicated”, business minister Kevin Hollinrake announced.
Mr Hollinrake said this is “a much quicker way to compensation”.
“If you think your claim is worth more than £600,000 then you can still go through the normal route.
“The good thing about this because some people will inevitably take this route, it will take more people out of the queue so the full assessment will take less time as well. It’s a really win-win on every level for people who have suffered.”
How long the offer is open for has yet to be worked out by government.
Many postmasters are yet to seek an overturning of their conviction. Hundreds of people are thought to have been wrongly been convicted.
