Northern Ireland

Belfast sub-postmaster caught up in Horizon IT scandal to get £200K payout

The man, who has not been identified, secured the payout following a 15-year battle to clear his name

Fewer than one in six victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal have received letter quashing their convictions
(Lewis Stickley/PA)

A former sub-postmaster from Belfast caught up in the Horizon IT scandal is to receive £200,000 compensation, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

The man, who has not been identified, secured the payout following a 15-year battle to clear his name.

His legal representatives described the outcome as “life-changing”.

More than 900 postmasters across the UK were wrongly prosecuted for stealing because defective Horizon software made it look like money had gone missing from their branches.

Fraud charges were brought against the man in connection with a business he ran until the early 2000s.

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He initially pleaded guilty on legal advice to seven counts of false accounting.

The man received a suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay back a sum of £1,500 to the Post Office.

But after flaws in the computer system were exposed his convictions were quashed in September this year.

The scandal has been described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Lawyers for the man applied for compensation under the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme.

It was disclosed today that he will obtain a £200,000 payment to cover the wrongful convictions.

Solicitor Victoria Trainor, of KRW Law, claimed no amount of money will remove the stigma her client endured.

“It is depressing that a totally innocent man devoted to his work and family was fitted up for a crime he didn’t commit,” she said.

“He should be able to hold his head up high but he can’t because even after all this time some of his family are still unaware of what he’s been through.”

Ms Trainor added: “These toxic convictions have affected every strata of his life, preventing him progressing with any career and excluding him from getting certain jobs which sadly affected his mental health.

“The Post Office hierarchy responsible for this injustice debacle should forever hang their heads in shame.”