The authorities is investigating methods to hurry up the overturning of wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake informed MPs he anticipated to unveil an answer shortly, after holding talks with Justice Secretary Alex Chalk on Monday.
Ministers are going through recent calls to behave after an ITV drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, returned the massive miscarriage of justice referring to the Horizon IT system to the highlight.
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The present tells how former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses have been held liable by the Post Office for monetary discrepancies thrown up by its computerised accounting system Horizon, developed by Fujitsu.
Between 1999 and 2015, greater than 700 Post Office department managers have been convicted after the defective software program made it appear like cash was lacking from their retailers.
Many have been jailed, bankrupted and in some instances, took their very own lives – however up to now solely 93 convictions have been overturned.
Mr Hollinrake stated he had a “very positive meeting” with Mr Chalk on Monday, the place they mentioned how one can assist the convicted department managers clear their names.
The Post Office minister informed MPs: “We have devised some choices for resolving the excellent felony convictions with far more tempo.
“[The justice secretary] will quite rightly need to speak to senior figures in the judiciary about these options before we put them forward.”
There have been requires the federal government to mass exonerate all those that have been convicted and for the Post Office to be stripped of its prosecution powers.
Mr Hollinrake didn’t element what options are into consideration however stated the federal government “shall be able to announce these proposals to the House very shortly”.
Later, in response to a query from former justice secretary Robert Buckland, he stated laws to create a presumption of innocence for victims “is something we discussed”.
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He additionally stated that “proper and thoughtful consideration” might be given on how personal prosecutions are undertaken “to make sure a scandal like this can never happen again”.
Mr Hollinrake additionally introduced that former High Court choose Sir Gary Hickinbottom will chair an impartial panel assessing the monetary losses of postmasters with overturned convictions.
‘Real villains’ ought to be prosecuted
But former Tory minister David Davis, who has stated victims of the scandal ought to be capable to submit a mass enchantment, pressed for additional motion within the Commons.
He stated on high of dashing up the exoneration course of, the Post Office ought to be banned from “hiring expensive lawyers” to problem compensation claims.
He additionally recommended the “real villains” of the scandal be prosecuted, saying “we know who they are”.
Asked if these solutions could possibly be achieved “in months rather than years” Mr Hollinrake stated: “Yes, we want a more rapid means of overturning convictions.
“Yes, we wish to be certain the Post Office does not problem unfairly any try and overturn convictions. Yes, by way of ensuring the investigatory course of occurs extra rapidly.”
The statement came as former Post Office boss Paula Vennells was coming under greater pressure over her CBE.
A petition to the Forfeiture Committee calling for Ms Vennells, who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon IT system, to lose the honour has attracted more than one million signatures.
Earlier on Monday, Rishi Sunak signalled he would support a committee looking into the title, while Mr Hollinrake said it is “completely cheap” to ask her at hand it again.
The Post Office is wholly owned by the federal government and a public inquiry into Horizon is ongoing.
Reports recommend that fifty new potential victims have approached legal professionals since ITV’s drama was broadcast.
Scotland Yard stated on Friday that officers are “investigating potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions”, for instance “monies recovered from sub-postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions”.
The Metropolitan Police had already been trying into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice in relation to investigations and prosecutions carried out by the Post Office.
Source: information.sky.com”