Post Office scandal: How will the new law to exonerate victims of Horizon work?
The IndependentSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} After weeks of mounting speculation about how the government intends to respond to the Horizon Post Office scandal, Rishi Sunak has announced the government will introduce legislation to exonerate 700 victims accused of theft and fraud. Public anger over the scandal has been growing since the release of ITV drama “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake set out some of the details of how the government intends to quash at least 700 convictions of Post Office staff caught up in the Horizon scandal. The government has not yet announced a timetable for the introduction of the legislation but Mr Hollinrake told MPs on Wednesday it would be introduced “within weeks” Mr Hollinrake also confirmed that the UK government is now liaising with devolved authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland about the next steps. He told MPs: “I can not tell the House that all those prosecuted were indeed innocent… without retrying every case, we can not know.” Conservative former minister Sir David Davis raised concerns that some of the victims may want an “individual exoneration rather than a grand pardon, because they are understandably concerned of being bracketed with a very small number of people who will actually not be innocent.” Some MPs may also be concerned that the bill could create a precedent for government interference with the judiciary.