Post Office (Horizon system) Offences Act 2024 – Update

Justice Minister Naomi Long has provided an update on the quashing of convictions of postmasters in Northern Ireland.

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024 was passed into legislation in May this year meaning all convictions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were to be overturned automatically providing they met the statutory criteria.

To date, based on documentation obtained from within the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, including court records and prosecution files, the Department has identified 12 individuals whose convictions have been quashed by the Act and the Department has issued correspondence to these individuals to notify them accordingly.

Speaking today, Minister Long said: “I am delighted that 12 persons have now had confirmation their convictions have been quashed and that these will be removed from their records. Those who were wrongly convicted and accused of wrongdoing as part of the Horizon IT scandal have spent years accused of false allegations. I hope by having their convictions quashed and their records updated, they get some sense that justice has been served.”

The convictions of a further 14 individuals are still under active consideration by the Department. In these cases, limited or no information is held by the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, due to the passage of time and records being disposed of in line with retention and disposal schedules.

The Minister said: “My Department has sought information from the Post Office Ltd in respect of 14 other individuals and it is anticipated that information will be shared with us in the coming weeks to enable us to make a determination on whether those convictions were quashed by the legislation. I would encourage anyone who believes they have a relevant conviction and has not received a letter to date to make contact with the Department so their convictions can be reviewed.”

The Department for Business and Trade are responsible for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme for those who have had their convictions quashed by the legislation.

Commenting on the financial redress, the Minister said: “Whilst no amount of financial redress can fully compensate for the years of stress and suffering that sub postmasters have experienced, I hope it goes some way to alleviating any financial hardship being experienced. I encourage those who think they eligible to apply to the scheme.”

Notes to editors: 

1. Press queries about this publication should be directed to the DoJ Press Office via email to press.office@justice-ni.gov.uk
2. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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