Horizon IT System: Convictions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many postmasters have been notified that their convictions have been quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024.
Answered by Heidi Alexander
As of 26 July 2024, we have issued 10 letters confirming to postmasters that their convictions have been quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024.
The Ministry of Justice, Northern Irish Executive and Scottish Government are taking all reasonable steps and are working at pace to identify those within scope of the legislation. To do this, the Government is examining data spanning multiple decades and from multiple sources, including but not limited to the Post Office, the Police National Record, and court files. It is necessary that this process is undertaken carefully.
The previous Government said publicly that most letters confirming to individuals that their convictions have been quashed would be sent by the end of July. However, since then inconsistencies have been identified between the different datasets and the Government has therefore decided to conduct extra checks to ensure that all decisions on scope are correct.
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