Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Paragraph: 16
We are deeply disappointed that the 555 group action litigants, who took the Post Office...
Conclusion
We are deeply disappointed that the 555 group action litigants, who took the Post Office Ltd. (POL) to court and who exposed the Horizon scandal, should be worse off than other victims of Horizon who would otherwise not be in a position to make claims. It is a perverse situation that the prolonged legal proceedings and the resulting delay to POL’s decision to settle have reduced the compensation the 555 were entitled to. Both the Post Office Ltd. and the Minister accept that this is unjust. We agree with the POL CEO, Nick Read, that it will be impossible for the POL to move forward until this issue is fully addressed. Our view is that the responsibility for addressing this injustice lies with the Government. Consideration should be given to recompense the legal fees of the 555 as an initial payment whilst full determination is considered.
Paragraph Reference:
16
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Government has acted on this issue. The Government announced on 22 March 2022 that it will make funding available to ensure postmasters who took part in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) case are not financially disadvantaged by their decision to litigate against the Post Office. Members of the GLO group will be able to access similar compensation to that available to their non-GLO peers. The Government is consulting informally with affected postmasters on how this compensation should be delivered. The Government will announce the results of those discussions to Parliament in the coming weeks.